Blackout
by AvaMcKenna
Summary: "You're a prince," She reminded me, as if I needed to be reminded. "Therefore, someone will want you. Now, exactly what they want with you, I'm not sure. But, just as long as I get what I want, I don't really care." Zuko X OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hola! Welcome everyone to my first ATLA story! This story is kind of AU. Everyone has fics where some girl gets captured by Zuko during some raid and they fall in love, and blah, blah, blah, so I wanted to try something a little . . . different. I think I'll eventually converge this story in with the main ATLA plot, after everyone in the beginning gets their problems sorted out. Anyway, I hope you all like it!**

**EDIT: Hey, everyone! I know I finished Blackout a while back (and I should be concentrating on other things *ahem*) but, upon rereading this, I found a few errors and kinks in my writing style that I just wanted to sort out, so I'll be slowly rewriting it just a bit! -A.M.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, but I **_**do**_** own Kaida.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**PROLOGUE: THE UNIVERSAL LIGHT SWITCH GOES OFF**

_"Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness  
to pull another hand into the light."  
-Norman B. Rice_

I peered silently through the shadows of the late-summer trees, watching the small village as it nobly went down in chaos. Blood-red flames licked at the straw-thatched roofs of the few insignificant homes that were nested there. The fire slowly ate up the innocent houses, dissolving them in its potent acidity and suffocating heat. Waves of searing air pulsed into my face with an eerie rhythm. Children clung to their mothers and older siblings, their eyes begging, desperate to know why this was happening to their only home.

I huffed impatiently, wishing that I could just go already, but held myself down with some effort. We weren't there, I reminded myself for the hundredth time, not yet. My quick eyes scanned over the apocalyptic scene, searching for the reason for my silent presence there. Every direction I looked, there were men in crimson-stained armor, tearing apart the pitiable village without restraint. Disgusting. It made my blood boil just watching them. I was once again tempted to blow my cover, if only for the satisfaction of getting in a few good punches at the so-called _warriors_ that were hell-bent on destroying everything in sight. I mentally shook myself out of it, forcibly remembering that it would not do me any good if I went about my plans so childishly. No, I had to stay put.

The horrible flames danced through my line of vision, flickering dramatically across my nearly-invisible features; laughing at me, taunting me. Suddenly, there was a large flash of crimson, much brighter than the others. My gaze snapped toward it instinctively, seeking out the source. My thin fingers crossed as I leaned forward to get a better look.

_Yes._

He was there, standing indifferently right in the center of the ensuing chaos, as if it were all just make-believe. I flipped backward, allowing myself to fall from the steady branch I hade been so carefully watching from. My knees bent as I made contact with the soft grass, absorbing most of the shock that threatened to shoot up my legs at impact. I tried my best to look inconspicuous as I enclosed on the inhuman scene of the crime, where people were running about like wild animals. I wrinkled my nose, turning to look instead at the bright points of light that twirled around my head.

I stepped past the scorched houses and seared ground toward the center of town. Some people, I could see, were watching me at a distance with frightened glances as I fearlessly walked through the debris and madness, each step slow and deliberate. I approached _him_, my gaze never faltering or wandering. It was something that I had been waiting for years to do. He did not turn, even as I came to an audible stop directly behind him.

_Too easy._

"Hello there, young prince," I said calmly, as if I wasn't standing right in the middle of a war zone. The flames popped and crackled on all sides of me, like a very angry campfire. He spun around sharply at the obviously unexpected sound of my voice, eyeing me warily.

"Who are you?" he demanded immediately. I sighed. Royalty was so rude these days; no knowledge at all of how to properly address a lady. I only smiled, holding my silence. I knew what was coming.

_Wait for it . . ._

Then, the whole world went black.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Yes, I know it was short, but it was just the prologue. The actual chapters will be much longer than this little snippet thingy. Read&Review! -A.M.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Bonjour, my lovelies! This is the chappy where you all get to meet my little OC! I'm fairly certain you all will like her character. And if anyone has read White Fire, yes, she is similar to my other OC, Kandace Akari. BUT there are major personality differences between the two that you will be able to notice l8r on in the story. Also, I would looove to hear your speculations about her, if you have any. I always want to know what my readers think of my OC, and plus I'm still figuring things out.**

**Toodles!**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Oh, must I? Fine. I do not own ATLA. Nor would you want me to.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I only smiled, holding my silence; I knew what was coming.

_Wait for it . . ._

Then, the whole world went black.

**I HOG TIE THE FIRE PRINCE**

_"There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."_  
_-Edith Wharton _

I smiled widely, rather proud of my own handiwork. Ten yards away, Prince Zuko lay unconscious in the corner of a cozy little cave I'd found out in the middle of a forest near a quiet earth kingdom village. I had tied his hands securely behind his back so that bending would be limited, if not completely impossible, when he woke up. I hadn't felt the need to use a gag or tie his feet up, though, pretty sure I could take him on myself if he tried to escape. After all, he couldn't fight if he was blind, now could he?

The grin on my face widened even more. My plan was going perfectly. In a matter of weeks, I would have what I wanted, and pretty boy over there would be free to go; no harm done. It had been surprisingly easy to take him. In all the confusion, he had completely lost track of me and what I was doing. Big mistake on his part. You _never_ took your eyes off the enemy, no matter how little a threat they seemed. Not that I was complaining, though. He had made the kidnapping painfully simple.

I looked over at the young prince, who couldn't have been much older than I was. I had heard many stories about the boy who was little more than a child, both great and terrifying. It seemed unlikely that he was capable of all of the things that he was so often accused of. I studied the scar that painted half his face. It was the only reason I even believed that it was the prince of the fire nation that I had, knocked out in a cave, rather than some random, insignificant person.

Seeing it was a painful reminder of my own father, who was . . . well, let's just say, less than fatherly. I frowned at nothing in particular as a few not-so-endearing memories of the man replayed themselves in my head.

From the corner, I heard Zuko stir quietly. I was immediately snapped from my own little world and back into the one I was currently doing some dangerous and very illegal things in. The young prince sat up with difficulty, due to the fact that his hands were still tied, and shook out his messy, dark hair, as if trying to clear his head. I waited silently at the side wall of the cave. He looked around, his expression guarded, as if he expected something to jump out and try to eat him. Ha, now _that _was an interesting thought, to say the least. I smirked when his eyes finally landed on me.

"Well, good morning, Princess," I said, thoroughly enjoying the horrified expression on his face as he realized that he'd been kidnapped by a girl. I saw him try to move his hands, only to find that they were bound behind him. He pulled stubbornly at the ropes, but to no avail. I had made sure beforehand that they wouldn't come off, no matter what. I didn't say anything, though, as he struggled uselessly against the ties. Just watched.

After a good two minutes of failed attempts at untying himself, he turned to me. I smiled politely, waiting for the generic question that was about to come.

"Who are you?" the young prince demanded for the second time since I'd met him. _Yep, that's the one. _I stood up, slowly walking over to where he was. His expression was nothing but guarded as I approached him, dragging out the should-have-been short walk. I crossed my arms in front of myself, stopping and looking down at him, which I'm sure he just _loved._

"What's it to ya?" I shot back at him, raising an amused eyebrow. He promptly turned a vivid shade of red that I supposed had nothing to do with being embarrassed.

"I just asked you who you were, girl" he fumed, as if everyone on earth was automatically required to comply with his every demand. Typical fire nation, thinking that they're always going to get what they want. "Do you know who I am?" I rolled my eyes, which only seemed to make him angrier.

"Of course," I drawled, leaning down so that I was smirking deviously right up in his face, knowing that he could do nothing about it. "You're Kuro Surami, the greatest traveling waterbender of all time!" Prince Zuko looked as if he were all of a sudden choking on something huge, and sounded like it too. I threw my head back, laughing loudly. Did he really think that I was serious?

"What?" He exclaimed, his eyes bugging. I felt the air heat up around his body and, though I certainly didn't show it, I was momentarily surprised that he had enough energy to do that after being unconscious for as long as he had. And because of me, no less.

"Oh, calm down, _Zuko_," I said dismissively, waving my hand at him. "I know who you are."

"That's _Prince_ Zuko to you!" he said stubbornly. I yawned purposely to show him that I wasn't even bothering to really listen.

"Sure, sure," I muttered distantly, studying my nails. Like I would ever refer to him as _that_. Ha, never. Zuko made a low, growl-like sound, lashing out to kick me with his unbound feet. I calmly stepped out of the way, not even bothering to look down.

"Why don't we get down to business, then?" I offered, unconcerned. Zuko glowered at me, not offering any kind of response to acknowledge that he'd heard what I'd said. I continued. "My name is Kaida Hotaru, and you have something that I want." That little accusation successfully seemed to grab at least a portion of the young prince's attention. He watched me distrustfully, but now, he was paying attention.

"I hardly have anything myself," he spoke carefully, as if deliberately choosing his words. "And somehow I doubt that you would want any of it." Ohh, so he thought I meant some silly object. I shook my head, explaining in more depth precisely what I was talking about.

"Two years ago, the fire nation took my grandmother and my baby cousin," I cleared up, glaring at him although I knew it was not _directly _his fault. "And let's just say, I'm not very happy about that." My eyes narrowed meticulously as I spoke.

"And what makes you think that I can do anything about it?" he asked coldly, seeming unaffected by my suddenly chilling tone of voice. I raised my head in defiance.

"Oh, _you_ can't do anything," I explained, clearly stating that he was useless. "I'm holding you for ransom." Zuko had another choking fit when I said that. I waited patiently until he calmed down again. It was strange. I had expected the young prince to be much more dignified; more refined to himself and better-than-you. I hadn't thought that he would be just as snappy as I was when he got angry.

Zuko glared up at me darkly through his tangled bangs. His eyes burned, as if he were attempting to singe a hole right through me.

"You're forgetting that I'm a _banished_ prince, little thief," he countered, keeping his voice even with some obvious physical effort. "I doubt my father wouldn't pay a loaf of bread to get me out, much less your family."

"Oh, I'll probably find _somebody_ who wants you," I told him, wrinkling my nose at the thought. I wasn't sure who would try to get _him_ back, but there had to be someone out there who would be willing to do it. I would agree, of course, regardless of who it was. I wasn't picky. And besides, it wasn't as if it mattered to me what happened to the prince after I was through with him.

"Now," I started, walking to the mouth of the cave. "I'm going to the village. Don't try anything funny, because you won't get far with no use of your arms and no map, and I'm not really in the mood to have to go out and look for you. So, just save yourself the embarrassment and stay put. Got that?"

_Hn. Let him mull that over for a couple of hours._

I waited momentarily for the answer, but knew that I wouldn't get one out of someone like Zuko. His inflated pride would not allow for him to respond to a question like that, so, after a moment, I shrugged indifferently and left.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Slightly confused about some things? Good, because you're supposed to be. It's all a part of my master plan, muahahahaha! . . . Eh, well, you'll get it later. In fact, you'll get it next chapter. Doesn't that make you want to: **

**Read&Review pplz!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Guten tag, everyone! I just have a few little comments before we kick off the next chapter. First off, as I mentioned in the last AN, I would love to hear speculations and suggestions, so if you have any suggestions then go for it! (And, trust me, you're going to want to "speculate" on this chapter) Secondly, I'm a sucker for compliments, so the more I get reviews, the more inclined I am to put out chapters. *hinthint* Anyhoo, enjoy the chapter!**

**Toodloo!**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Do I still have to put this?**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"I'm going to the village. Don't try anything funny, because you won't get far with no use of your arms and no map. So, just save yourself the embarrassment and stay put. Got that?"

I waited momentarily for the answer, but knew that I wouldn't get one out of someone like Zuko. His inflated pride would not allow for him to respond to a question like that, so, after a moment, I shrugged indifferently and left.

**I LET THE METAPHORICAL CAT OUT OF THE BAG**

_"To rid ourselves of our shadows-who we are-we must step into either total light or total darkness."_  
_-Jeremy Preston Johnson _

As soon as the dark-haired girl, Kaida, was out of earshot, I went for my dagger, which she had stupidly forgot to check me for. I worked it out from my back pocket with difficulty, given the little movement the ties on my arms permitted. This Kaida girl had obviously dealt with fire benders before. She had me restrained just to the point that bending would do nothing but cause me to burn myself.

When I had the dagger securely in between my fingers, I sat forward and took a deep breath, trying to concentrate, then blindly flipped it through the air behind my back so that the hilt was on the bottom. Leaning over, I angled my wrist so that the blade could just barely touch the twine that I needed to cut. The position made my wrists start to seize up, but I ignored the pain, moving the dagger rhythmically along the thin, but strong, rope.

It took almost ten minutes, but I finally slit the rope thin enough that it could be snapped the rest of the way through. I stood up quickly, pushing aside the reluctant ache in my forearms and focusing on where to go from there. There had to be a way to find out where on earth I was. I searched the skies for any familiar silhouettes along the jagged horizon, but discovered nothing. Despite that, though, it _looked_ like the earth kingdom, judging by the surroundings. It couldn't have been far from where I had been before. After all, that Kaida seemed to be working alone, which meant that she would have had to carry me to that cave.

I felt my face start to heat up at the thought of any of my men seeing _that._ Or my sister . . . I shuddered involuntarily.

There was a running stream nearby, straight across from the opening of the cave. It wasn't much, but I was willing to bet that it lead into some major river, which would undoubtedly lead to a village of some sorts. Kaida _had_ mentioned going to visit one. I could only pray it wasn't the _same_ one that I found. I followed the flow of the water south, hoping it would lead me somewhere that I could catch a ship to the fire nation.

The sooner I left there, the better.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I sighed as I observed the empty cavern. Typical fire nation, never following logical instruction. Of course, I had known from the minute he woke up that the young prince would try to escape. He had a surprisingly stubborn nature for someone of such high stature. Really, it was more of an excuse for me to show him exactly why he _shouldn't_ try to get away. Oh, well. Like I had said before, he couldn't get far with no map. Even if he _had_ found some way to cut the ties, I still had luck on my side . . . among other things.

I bent over the crystal-clear water, looking for tracks that could contradict my theory as to where my difficult hostage had gone, but there was nothing but my emerald-eyed reflection to be found in the glassy surface.

I turned south and walked at a casual stroll, following the small stream that I had purposely singled out for that particular situation. As much as I would have loved to believe it, Prince Zuko was not entirely stupid, and every rational person knows that you stay by the water if you want to survive. After a few minutes of slow steps in the right general direction, I picked up my pace, jogging lightly along the bank. It wouldn't take me long to catch up with my hostage.

I grinned. Poor kid. He was about to be singlehandedly captured and dragged out to a cave in the middle of nowhere for the second time time in less than twenty-four hours. I was practically butchering his dignity. Not that it wasn't entirely self-inflicted, though, because it was. It was all his fault, what was about to happen. I just happened to be the delivery girl.

Once again, I turned my eyes from the empty stream bank and to the flecks of light that seemed to dance around my head. I couldn't help but come to terms with the fact that they would have to be explained if I was to stay anywhere near the fire prince. Sure, I could make them go away if I wanted to, but they calmed me. And sometimes I just needed some kind of reassurance in my life. It was a distraction, an escape.

Suddenly, there was a quiet popping noise up ahead.

Fire.

I smiled and, using the shadows to veil my presence, stepped quietly behind a nearby tree. Though I knew I didn't actually _need_ to hide myself behind anything - whoever it was couldn't see me either way now - it still felt a more natural thing to do than standing out in the open. It didn't take long to determine who I had found.

"AHA!" I exclaimed, losing the cover. I jumped out from behind my tree, tackling Zuko to the ground. After a few barrel rolls over each other, I halted the motion, pinning the young prince down. My hands crushed his wrists into the dirt above his head.

"You're persistent, aren't you?" he noticed, breaking my hold and throwing me off of him. I tried to counter, but he got to it first, twisting my arm behind my back.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I replied, unconcerned. I shifted my weight, flipping him over my back. Zuko somehow managed to land on his feet, spinning around to block my well-placed roundhouse kick toward his head.

"Well, it's starting to get on my nerves," he grunted, watching my movements carefully. He went for my side, a shot of flames dancing through the air from his hands, but I ducked quickly, letting him throw himself off balance. I made sure to keep a portion of my vision focused on his right hand, which kept inching suspiciously toward his pocket. Whatever was in there, I would need to watch out for it.

"Ohh," I said innocently. "Am I too much for you, young prince?" My eyebrows went up in question, completing the puppy-dog look that I was going for. Zuko lashed out in irritation, exactly as I expected. Using his own momentum against him, I swept my bare foot under his body, fully intent on knocking him over and bringing the fight to an end. What I wasn't prepared for was the way he avoided my trip, stepping behind me and pressing a cold, steel dagger to my throat. Everything froze. I could hear Zuko's breathing heavily right at my ear, as well as my own.

"Don't try anything," he instructed quietly from behind me, unintentionally repeating my own words to me from earlier, "Unless you feel like dying." I offered only a short, amused laugh, closing my eyes with a smile. Zuko gave an audible gasp as the flash of light stunned him, then relinquished his hold on me as he lost his vision completely.

Everything was dark as ink as I blinked my eyes back open.

I used the momentary distraction as a chance to pry the dagger from his unsuspecting grip and switch our previous positions. I waited for the prince to stop struggling before I slowly let his vision fade back in.

"Now," I started smugly, "Will you walk with me on your own, or am I going to have to drag you back again?" Zuko did not answer my question, instead turning his own question on me.

"What are you?" he managed to get out, his voice tense and suspicious.

I smiled.

"Like I said before, _your highness, _my name is Kaida Hotaru," I paused for affect before actually telling him what he really wanted to know.

"And I'm a shadowbender."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Zomg! She's a wha? Hehe. Just a little FYI for everyone, Kaida means 'little dragon' and Hotaru means 'firefly' I thought that they both fit her very well and plus I just like the name Kaida 8) **

**"Oh, my! What's that? *gasps* It's the review button!"**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Dia duit, lovelies! I must confess that I flip out every time I get a review eMail on my iTouch. My little sister thinks I've lost my mind, but then again she always thinks that. I love you reviewers with a passion. You guys rock my poodle sox!  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: ATLA is not mine. Please do not sue, as I have no money. 8P**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"I'm a shadowbender."

**ZUKO GETS FOOTBALL TACKLED**

_"Everything has it's wonders, even darkness and silence. I've learned that whatever state I may be in, to be content."  
- Helen Keller  
_

If I hadn't had Zuko facing away from me with his own dagger pressed traitorously against his throat, I imagine he would have stared at me like I had lost my ever-loving mind. That was what normally happened when people found out what I was, even if they hadn't the slightest idea what I meant by the fact that I was a shadowbender. And not many people did. In fact, I had only met one man in all my life who knew right from the get-go exactly what I was and what I did, without me even having to tell him. He never did explain to me how he knew, but he was kind to me despite his secrets. I felt Zuko stiffen, and, though I could not see his face, I mentally predicted every tense word before they even escaped his lips. It was always the same thing, save the time with the old man.

"What do you mean, 'shadowbender?'" he demanded, his voice wary. "There is no such thing." I laughed. Talk about being in denial.

"Oh?" I asked, politely amused. "Then I suppose it was just your imagination that kicked your butt a few moments ago, hmm?" I would have paid to see Zuko's facial expression at that comment.

"It must have been a trick," he insisted stubbornly. I sighed.

"Listen, pretty boy," I offered, putting my bargaining skills to work in the hope of getting back to the cave some time in the next few years. "You promise to not make me have to drag you back to the cave, and I'll prove to you that I'm a shadowbender when we get there."

For a moment, he was intently silent and I could tell that he was mentally calculating his chances of escaping me again.

"You can't run anywhere if you're blind, young prince" I reminded him, my voice chilling. There were a few more moments of charged silence, before Zuko's head went down in defeat.

"Fine," he spat, sounding extremely irritated. Immediately, I released my hold on Zuko, causing him to stumble forward a bit. I paid him no attention, instead turning and walking back in the direction of the cave. As the prince regained his balance, I felt the hair on the back of my neck start to prick. So that's how he wanted to play, eh?

I flipped backward just as a jet of flames scorched the ground where I had been standing only moments before, and, once again, I veiled myself in the darkness.

Zuko spun around in every direction, searching for some sign of my presence, despite the fact that I was standing only a few feet away from him. The shadows were like one-way glass: I could see everything on the outside of them, but no one out there could see me. Lucky for me, it was starting to dim outside. During the daytime, my shadows could only make me appear transparent; not completely gone. Zuko's ember eyes continued to dart around, still trying to find me.

"You know this means I'll have to drag you now," I informed him drearily, sighing. The boy wasn't exactly feather-light. He turned sharply toward the direction of my seemingly disembodied voice.

"Where are you?" he demanded, his topaz eyes narrowing expectantly in my general direction.

"I don't know, young prince," I replied, chuckling to myself as I stepped behind Zuko. The extra rope I had saved was gripped tightly in my ready fist. "Maybe I'm in your mind. You need a conscience, right?"

Not waiting for an answer that would never come, I swept Zuko's feet from under him, binding his hands and ankles before he had the chance to realize what was happening. When the prince was safely tied up, I dropped the veil, revealing myself to be standing right over him.

"Or," I offered, cocking my head to the side. "Maybe I'm one of those ridiculous, nonexistent 'shadowbenders.'" I shrugged sarcastically. "It could be either one, right?" More death glares from the prince of the fire nation. I hooked my fingers around the rope over Zuko's shoulders, sighing dramatically.

This was going to take forever.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

Again.

She dragged me all the way out to that cave _again. _I tried to close my eyes and pretend that it was just an awful, pride-destroying nightmare. Kaida seemed to have no problems pulling my weight. In fact, when I looked up, I saw that she had an annoyingly smug smile pulling at her lips.

It only became more pronounced as she saw me glaring.

"You brought this upon yourself, you know," she mentioned, strangely reminding me of Uncle. He always said I brought every ridiculous thing that happened to me upon myself. I'd like to see him hand me the blame on this one, I thought bitterly.

"I didn't think you would actually drag me back yourself," I told Kaida. She laughed, looking down at me with an entertained expression on her face.

"You thought I was bluffing?" Obviously, I wanted to say, or I would've come much more quietly. It wasn't as if this had ever happened to me before.

Without warning, Kaida's fingers unhitched from the ropes, causing me to come close to toppling over. She pulled my dagger out from who-knows-where, bending over and using it to slit the ties on my feet. Although my wrists were still bound behind my back, the feeling of being able to walk again was more than a welcome relief.

I stood up shakily, observing the surrounding scene. Sure enough, we were once again at the mouth of the cave where I had woken up that very morning. I grimaced as I watched Kaida walk inside in a very unconcerned manner. Somehow, I got the feeling that she was a very unconcerned person in general. I continued to stand in the clearing outside, even though I was clearly expected to follow the self-proclaimed "shadowbender" wherever the girl went. She turned back when I did not, raising her eyebrow in a questioning and somehow threatening look.

"If you think that you're going to try and run away again-," Kaida started, but I cut her off before she could jump to any conclusions. I didn't know what she would try if she didn't think I would follow her instructions, and I wasn't ready to find out.

"You promised a demonstration," I reminded her despite myself. Although it was trivial, I was rather intrigued about her abilities. Kaida shook her head, a grin stretching across her face.

"I promised a demonstration _if you didn't make me drag you back here_." I frowned. She was right, of course, but I tried a different approach, hoping it would work.

"If you ask me, it sounds like you're just trying to come up with an excuse," I taunted, putting on my best skeptical face. She smirked.

"Fine," she said curtly. "But I'm telling you because I want to, and not because of your sorry attempt at tricking me into it."

"Fair enough," I muttered under my breath.

The sun was almost completely hidden behind the mountainous horizon, but it was still fairly easy to see. Kaida stepped into the clearing almost gracefully, her head bowed in what I thought to be concentration. Eyes closed, she raised her arms up, then back down, then up again, and back down. The movement somehow reminded me of waves pulsing in and out of the shoreline on a beach. Once again, her arms floated up above her head, but this time they paused at the top.

Eyes still shut peacefully, Kaida spoke.

"Try to keep your balance, young prince."

Before I even had the chance to ask what she meant by that, Kaida's emerald eyes snapped open and her arms shot out to either side.

Instantly, my vision went void, replaced by an unsettlingly tangible darkness that I had only experienced once before. It felt almost as if I were in an empty world, where the cause of the darkness was that there was simply nothing there; like not only was the light gone, but everything else as well. The shadows were like a living thing as my eyes went unfocused, putting my entire body under pressure in it's emptiness. No matter how hard my eyes tried to detect some reflection of light, there wasn't anything there to be detected. There was something very unsettling about the feeling.

"Where is this?" I said out loud, feeling ridiculous, as if I were talking to myself. There was an uneasy moment of silence, and I wondered if maybe I was, but then a small orb of light appeared out of nowhere, barely two inches from my face. I took in a quick breath, stepping back as the glowing sphere illuminated the liquid black that surrounded my body, keeping it from drowning me in it's weight.

"You're exactly where you were before," Kaida's voice informed me from somewhere I could not see. Suddenly, the small light was gone, seemingly sucked back into the shadows. As quickly as it had disappeared, though, another larger glow appeared further away. I moved toward it cautiously, noticing that it seemed to be growing in size. As I approached, I began to make out the fine lines of Kaida's silhouette and darkened features.

In the dim glow of the light, I could see that she was smiling as she watched for my reaction. Her hand was open, palm up, under the illumination.

"Nobody outside right now is able to see either of us," she told me with an eerie sort of smile. "All anyone would notice, is a patch of the forest that looks slightly darker than the rest." It sounded almost like a warning to my ears; like she was telling me that nobody would be able to help if she decided to get rid of me right then and there. The glow from her palm made the shadows dance across her face.

I watched as Kaida spun the light into a fluid ribbon, pulling and bending it around her body, and felt slightly annoyed at the fascination that I felt at watching her. What she was doing was physically impossible.

And it captivated me.

"Are there others like you?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent. Surely someone would have noticed somebody like Kaida. Surely my _father_ would have imprisoned them; or just eliminated them completely like he had the air nomads. But not kept a secret like she seemed to be.

"No," Kaida replied. "I have never met another like me." She twirled the ribbon into a sphere, then let it break apart, causing hundreds of flecks of light to dissipate from it. They floated out and twirled slowly around the endless shadows that held us; like fireflies or stars.

"What about your parents?" I inquired. Kaida shook her head.

"No." No? What kind of an answer was that? No, her parents could not shadowbend? Or no, she did not have parents?

"How did you learn this then?" I asked her skeptically. I could tell that she was hiding something about this strange power of her's, and I intended to find out what that was.

"I learned from the fireflies, of course," Kaida replied lightly, as if it were completely obvious. I frowned at her blatant lie as she snapped her fingers, causing the quiet earth kingdom forest to fade back into view. It was now nighttime, the milky light from the moon pouring into the clearing and a chilling breeze spiraling brushed her hands together, turning to give me an I-told-you-so look.

"So, there," she said, looking more than satisfied. "Now that I've proved you wrong, I'm going to bed. Your options are: A. Sleep out here in the freezing cold with your feet tied to a tree, or B. Actually listen to what I'm telling you and sleep in the cave with your feet tied to nothing. Your choice."

She gestured first to the ground in front of her, then back toward the almost equally uninviting cavern behind her. I let out a sharp breath in frustration, stalking past her and away from any potential tree-prisons. Kaida snorted.

"That's what I thought."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Woohoo! Longest chapter yet. I feel so proud of my little ol' self, haha.**

**Read&Review! It makes me feel all warm fuzzy on the inside. XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Aloha, my sexy fanfiction readers! Just a little heads up, this chapter is going to be diving deep into that scary, black pool that is Kaida's past. I think it will help everyone understand things a little better and also brings a new conflict into my spicy and sort of strange-smelling plot soup. (Hey, is it **_**my**_** fault I'm a horrible cook?) XD Anyhoo, enjoy! Flashbacks are in **_**italics.**_

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Why, yes, I am the owner of ATLA. Now excuse me while Mike & Bryan murder me. XD**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"So, there," she said, looking satisfied. "Now that I've proved you wrong, I'm going to bed. Your options are: A. Sleep out here in the freezing cold with your feet tied to a tree, or B. Actually listen to what I'm telling you and sleep in the cave with your feet tied to nothing. Your choice." She gestured first to the ground in front of her, then back toward the almost equally uninviting cavern behind her. I let out a sharp breath in frustration, stalking past her and away from any potential tree-prisons. Kaida snorted.

"That's what I thought."

**BLACK YEAR MEMORIES**

_" . . . Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."  
- Stephen King_

About halfway through the night, I came to a crucial realization that I had not anticipated upon my kidnapping the prince of the Fire Nation:

Zuko snored. Loudly.

I supposed it didn't help that I was a horribly light sleeper already. Not that I was complaining, though. My mental inability to sleep through chaos was one of the many things that had managed to keep me somewhat alive over the span of my lifetime; along with bending, experience, random strangers and sheer dumb luck.

I sleepily twiddled a stream of light in between my fingers allowing it to illuminate my face. I took extra care to block out the sounds coming from right outside the entrance of the cave; inhuman sounds that I knew no one else would be able to hear. I had learned to keep the knowledge of their existence to myself a long time ago.

The hard way.

_"Grandma!" I shrieked, running toward my grandmother's tent, only a few yards away from my own and Leila's. My once-long, midnight-colored hair whipped across my face, a tangled mess from sleeping. My short legs did not make it easy to get where I was trying to in a hurry, no matter how hard I pushed them to run faster. I was almost at the entrance to Grandma's tent when my bare foot caught on a fissure in the uneven rock, pulling me to the ground with a _thump.

_I craned my neck up, brushing the dark hair out of my face. From the back of my village's small camp, a cruel snarl echoed from an enormous shadow as it watched me from the trees. The sound was metallic and stung my ears as it seemingly shook the very foundation of the world._

_I buried my face into the damp grass, putting my hands over my head. Not knowing what to do, I started to cry as loud as I possibly could, hoping that someone would find melting there there before the monsters did._

_Immediately, several pairs of aged hands fluttered over my small sobbing form. I chanced looking up again, tears streaming down my cheeks, to find my grandmother giving me a concerned look. Her face was weathered and worried as she peered down at me. There were several other villagers standing behind her, mostly mothers and elders. They all looked extremely antsy, and they were all watching me. I didn't like that._

_"Kaida, what ever is the matter," my grandmother asked, her voice calm and soothing. I let her pick me up into her arms, a sure sign of how frightened I was. I normally insisted on walking everywhere on my own, despite the fact that I was only three and a half._

_"There are monsters out there," I informed her, my tiny voice quivering. Several of the villagers let out relieved sighs, which didn't make much sense to me at the time. Hadn't they been listening to me?_

_"I'm sure it was just a dream, sweety," Grandma assured me, stroking my hair affectionately. I shook my head stubbornly, pointing toward the copse of trees where a pair of crimson eyes glowed back at me._

_"Don't you see it?" I asked her, always the difficult child. The monster was right there, not ten yards away, still watching preditorally. "It's looking back at us." I knew it was there. I _knew_ it was. She turned to glance fleetingly in the direction I pointed, then turned back toward me._

_"There's nothing there," my grandmother assured me, her eyes troubled. "It was just a dream."_

Nobody ever did believe me, convinced that I just suffered from vivid night terrors. No matter how often I tried to make them listen to what I said, they always dismissed my assurances as an overactive imagination and told me to go back to sleep before I woke up my baby cousin, Leila.

I remembered, as a child, I used to stay up all day and then all night for weeks at a time with only short naps when I felt completely safe with my surroundings. Eventually, my grandmother realized what was going on and, after a disappointed lecture on healthy sleeping habits, took me to the village medic to see what she thought. She gave me something to help me sleep, but, of course, it did nothing for the real problem.

Still, I decided to pretend that I felt better, if only for the sake of my concerned village. Even as a young child, I knew better than to pretend that they were not seriously worried about my mental state. I sighed at the not-so fond memories of my childhood. It had not been a pleasant one, as far as childhoods went.

I looked over at Zuko, wondering what his childhood had been like. Surely it could not have been as horror-filled as mine. He was a prince, after all. No doubt he had been babied and pampered since the day he'd been born. I had often dreamed of a life like that. No need to scower for food or worry about not having enough. He was spoiled in ways that I had only imagined as a little girl.

The evidence was not to be found in the way he looked - If anything, his scar made him appear a _victim _of the fire nation - but it was there in the way he acted; present when he spoke as if he owned the world and everything in it. It was quite a pity, since he could seem almost kind at times.

I stood up quietly, walking to the mouth of the cave. The rain was pouring ceaselessly, like the stars were dropping right out of the sky and turned out to just so happened to be droplets of crystal-clear water. Ever so slowly, I stepped out into the surprisingly warm rain, walking toward the edges of the clearing. A familiar low growl sounded as I approached the dark forest, but I had long since gotten over my fear of the shadow creatures. That was another black day of my childhood that also stood out in my mind, but for a much different reason.

_I was shaking violently, my back pressed up against the wall of an abandoned, stone alleyway in Ba Sing Se. My grandmother had taken me there on what was supposed to be a relaxing trip; something to help ease my ever present 'night terrors.' (Despite my best efforts to hide it, I was often found in bed, tremors wracking my small frame.) I knew it was all in vain, of course, but played along anyway._

_Even at eleven years old, I was smart enough to run away when the night fell, sneaking out of our nice guest room and back into the poorer, least populated section of the colossal city. All I knew was that I had to get the shadow beings away from Grandma and Leila._

_I was completely worn out from running through the abandoned streets of the city. Every breath that scorched in and out of my throat burnt like an open flame. My heart was on fire, the searing temperature rising with every heartbeat. I could only hope that they weren't numbered._

_The shadow creature approached me slowly now, savoring the moment as it realized that it finally had me cornered. It's throat rumbled like nothing I had ever heard before, as it stalked closer and closer. It's vermilion eyes glinting hungrily. I held my head up, trying to be brave for the sake of my family, but when it came right down to it and the monster lunged for me, I shut my eyes and looked away._

_After a few breathless moments, I realized that nothing had happened. I wondered idly if death felt so . . . well, like nothing. Slowly, I lifted my gaze._

_The shadow creature was cowering backward angrily, due to a strange light that had formed a kind of screen around my body. I watched in a dizzying swirl of amazement and terror as the monster gave one last blood-chilling roar, then disappeared into the night._

_Still quivering from the chase, I hesitantly reached my arm toward the bright force field that had mercifully spared my life. As my fingers made contact with the glowing sheet, it vanished. I jumped, looking around in fear._

_"No, wait," I said meekly as it disappeared. "Don't go!" I waved my arms frantically out in front of me, looking for some sort of an 'on' switch. My hands were met with only empty air. How strange. Had someone helped me? That did not seem likely, since there was no one else there _to_ help me. I had purposely made sure of that. But where could that light have come from, then?_

_I tried thrusting my arms out in front of my face, the way I had when the shadow creature had been about to pounce. Immediately, the bright film reappeared at my palms, causing me to jump again. I took extra care not to poke it that time, for fear it would vanish like before. I let my instincts take over, hoping that they could somehow help me with this mystery. Slowly, I moved my hands and wrists in a way that I had seen my mother do often in the short time I had known her. The shield instantly responded to the fluid movements, forming a thin screen all the way around my small form._

_The shadow creatures never got close to me again after that day._

I cradled a small sphere of light in my palm, knowing full well that it was enough to keep the shadow beings at bay. I looked into the dense trees, my ears filled with the roar of thunder, among other things that were not so kind. Though I had found a way to keep the monsters away, I knew that I could not let my guard down, not even for a split second. Because if there was anything my childhood had taught me, it was this:

Nothing is _ever_ what it seems.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Hmm, that was rather dark and angsty wasn't it? Oh, well. It was important information to the story, and not to mention you all. Oh, and Leila is pronounced lay-lah, like that song by Eric Clapton, hehe.**

**Read&Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ciào, pplz! (I have recently discovered that ciào means hello **_**and**_** goodbye) Alright, I get soooo off when I'm writing. Just so you know, I never intended any of this chapter to happen. I was writing, and then all of a sudden I thought, _You know what would really tick my character off? _And so, this lovely chapter was written. Things just lead to other things when I write I guess, haha. Anyhoo, I decided to put this out early since I'm going to Waco and wouldn't have been able to update it tomorrow. **

**Also, one last thing. This is very important! I'm sorry to say that I WILL NOT update until I get another review. I received absolutely ZERO on the last two chapters, and frankly I'm getting a bit annoyed. Do you realize how many reviews I saw on a freaking ZuTara story? 276! And do you know how many I have? 4. This is what we call: a problem. So PLEASE REVIEW!  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. Not yet, anyway . . . *crazy Azula laugh*  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I knew that I could not let my guard down, not even for a split second. Because if there was anything my childhood had taught me, it was this:

Nothing is _ever_ what it seems.

**KAIDA IS OUT TO KILL ME**

_"Words are only painted fire; a look is the fire itself."_  
_-Mark Twain _

She was gone. Just . . . gone.

It was really the most stupid thing I had ever heard of. What kind of person takes someone hostage, lets them escape, takes them hostage a second time, and then leaves? I briefly wondered if Kaida was maybe a bit . . . off. She said strange things a lot . . . but, then again, so did Uncle. And he wasn't crazy. Not _completely _crazy, anyway.

I used the cave wall to push myself up, seeing that my hands were still useless, and it was then that I heard voices coming from outside.

"I'm sorry, but I don't care if you have an inn," Kaida's exasperated voice proclaimed, sounding irked. "I am staying right here."

Peering outside, I saw that Kaida was arguing with a frail-looking, old woman. The shadowbender had her fingers pressed to her forehead and her eyes were shut tightly. She looked as though she had been up all night.

"But dear," the old woman insisted, "You'll catch a cold if you stay here." Kaida's lip quirked up at that statement, as if the thought of her catching a cold was somehow amusing. I decided try and use the situation to my advantage.

"Yeah, Kaida," I said so that they both could hear every word I spoke clearly. "You'll catch a cold."

She stiffened, turned slowly, and then gave me the glare of a lifetime, that respectively should have singed a hole right through the middle of my forehead. The old woman, however, squinted as if she couldn't see straight, adjusting her glasses as she leaned forward.

"Oh . . . I didn't know you were staying with somebody," she said, giving Kaida an odd look. Kaida's palm smacked loudly against her forehead as she groaned.

"Well, I suppose he can stay, too," she said nodding in a spaced-out sort of way. Kaida's eyes were closed again, as if she didn't even want to look at us any more.

"Listen," Kaida started, once more attempting to reason with the elderly woman. "As much as-"

"Sure," I interjected. Kaida gave me a murderous look.

"Shut up, Hostage, nobody asked you!" she hissed, loudly enough to get her point across, but quiet enough that the old woman could not really hear what she was saying. The old woman smiled at me in a grandmotherly way, her dark eyes crinkling.

"Wonderful," she said, turning and waving us to follow her. Kaida let out a sharp breath, but walked forward grudgingly. I copied.

"Young Prince," she whispered threateningly as we strode behind the innkeeper, "You had better hope that I do not kill you before you even have the chance to get rescued."

"Hmmm," I said, pretending not to listen; or care, for that matter.

That only seemed to make her angrier.

"And what do you hope to accomplish by doing this?" she demanded, her green eyes flashing. "You should know that I'll just drag you out of there the minute _she_ falls asleep."

"You threaten that a lot, don't you?" I noticed, keeping my eyes forward. Kaida huffed indignantly.

"Normally, I only have to do it once to get the response I want."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"How long will you need your rooms for, dearie?"

I grimaced, groaning internally at the horrible, revolting words that were about to escape my lips.

"Actually," I informed the innkeeper in a strained voice, "We'll just be needing one room." Her silvery eyebrows went up into her hairline, making her eyes look even larger behind the thick glasses that she wore.

"Alright," she said reluctantly, handing me the room key. I was tempted to smack my forehead again, but restrained myself since I was sure I already had a red mark from the first time.

Grumbling angrily to myself, I stalked up the stairs, not even bothering to make sure that the prince was still behind me. I could hear him. I unlocked the corresponding door and stepped into the room, sizing it up. It was a bit drafty, but bearable. There was a small bed in the upper right hand corner with dark purple sheets. It looked so fluffy and inviting . . . no!

_Guard now, sleep later, _I instructed myself, cracking the metaphorical whip in my mind. The sun shone annoyingly through the window across from the door. I squinted at it in irritation.

Great. Just brilliant. I was stuck in a tiny inn room with the prince of the fire nation _all day._ Just the thought made me want to bang my head against the wall or gag. Or both. At least in the forest I could keep an eye on him from a tree, or from a hundred yards away where I wouldn't have to listen to his whiny voice twenty-four seven or be tempted to murder him.

Zuko sat down on the bed, staring at nothing in particular. I stood near the opposite wall, my arms crossed in front of me. Neither of us said a word. It was like a game: see who can ignore the other person the longest. After a good ten minutes, I won.

"You aren't really going to just stay here all day, are you?" Zuko broke the silence, his voice rasping slightly. I quirked an eyebrow in challenge, leaning against the wall.

"Of course I am," I informed him, examining my nails. "Why not?"

"Because," he started, his amber eyes narrowing, "I doubt you want to be stuck in here any more than I do."

Well, he was right about that. Would it make a difference though? I would still have to stay attached at the hip in case he tried to escape. And what if it was all just a trick so that he _could _pull an easy get away?

"And where would you want to go, anyway?" I asked skeptically. Was there anywhere even worth going in such an insignificant, little town? Somehow, I seriously doubted it. However, Zuko seemed to think otherwise.

"A tea shop," he said with a suspiciously knowing look. I didn't trust him at all, but I was almost ready to risk it anyway, just for the sake of getting out of there. It was that expression on his face that kept me from agreeing to it.

"I don't like that look you're giving me," I told him bluntly. I walked over to the bed and shoved him off of it, earning me an undignified 'Hey!' that I did not bother to acknowledge. I sat down.

"And besides," I argued, fluffing the pillow and laying back. "I need a nap." Not sleeping all night had left me with some not-so-pretty purple splotches under my eyes.

So, with that, I let my eyes close and fell quickly into dreams.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"General Iroh."

I turned around to see the ship's Lieutenant, his head bowed in respectful greeting. I smiled, idly wondering when the crew would realize that I did not require such formality.

"Well, hello, Lieutenant," I said warmly as he straightened himself up. "Nice weather we're having, eh?" He frowned at my statement, his face grave. _Uh, oh_, I thought. _This can't be good._

"There was an issue during the search of the Mieko village," he informed me. "Prince Zuko was taken captive by an unknown opposition."

"Taken captive?" I repeated. "What happened?" The Lieutenant looked down, his eyebrows pushing together.

"It was all so strange," he said distantly. "One minute he was there, then everything just went black." He shook his head. "For a while, nobody could see anything, and when the light came back, he was gone."

Now it was my turn to frown. There could only be one explanation for such an odd occurrence. I dove deep into my memories of the days that I spent traveling the world.

"Do you think you know what could have caused it?" the Lieutenant asked, noticing my intrigued expression.

"Hmmm. I have a hunch," I said, concentrating on a certain face in my mind. "But I will have to look into it to be sure." I walked toward the exit ramp of the ship, picking up a small sack on my way there. The Lieutenant watched me with interest.

"Where are you going, General?" he asked in confusion. I stopped and turned to look over my shoulder.

"I am going to see if I can't find an old friend of mine."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Oooo, what's Uncle Iroh up to? That's kind of a dumb thing for the author to be asking, huh? But alas, I know exactly what he's up to.**

**Read&Review if _you _wanna find out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Huthegelluthego! (That would be Jibberish, everyone. Did **_**you**_** know that there was an actual language called Jibberish? Because I didn't) Anyhoo, thanks soooooo much to the ONE PERSON who actually commented on my last chapter. Enjoy!**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Zzzzz . . . say wha?**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"Where are you going, General?" he asked in confusion. I stopped and turned to look over my shoulder.

"I am going to see if I can't find an old friend of mine."

**HOW I GOT CHAINED TO A BED**

_"When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly."_  
_-Patrick Overton _

Kaida was out cold the minute her head hit the pillow. I sat completely still as the guards she placed over herself disappeared, not wanting to wake her back up. I had thought she looked tired earlier and the way she currently looked just confirmed that suspicion. The purple-gray rings under her eyes contrasted vividly against the light skin of her face.

I started to stand up, glad to finally have a moment where I wasn't being watched, but as I did, my wrist jerked to a halt, snagging me back down to the floor beside the bed. I looked down in confusion.

"Can't be serious," I muttered quietly, glaring down at my now slightly bruised arm.

Somehow, in a way that was simply beyond me, Kaida had managed to chain me to the bed, after she had so endearingly shoved me off of it, without my noticing. She hadn't even given me chance to decide that I wanted to try and escape again! I scowled at how long it had taken me to even realize what she'd done. I should have expected it, though, I realized, shaking my head. Kaida wasn't some innocent little girl, although she could certainly fake it if she wanted to. She was a clever, street-smart thief, and a good one at that.

I sighed, leaning back against the bed frame. I obviously wasn't going to be getting out of there for a while.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"If I were holding the heir to the throne hostage . . ." I murmured to myself, scanning over the busy marketplace and rubbing my chin. Whoever had kidnapped my tempermental nephew obviously expected to use him for ransom. They wanted something that only a fire nation noble could provide them with.

I walked idly around the market, weaving in between the colorful local stands and produce vendors. I did not hurry myself through the labyrinth of shops, wanting to observe and learn as much from watching the people of the town as I could. Watching and listening was the most valuable way to riddle out useful information, though not many realized it.

I absently entered a quaint tea shop, which usually proved to attract quite the knowledgeable group of people, and as I was inclined toward such places anyway. It was small but neat and well kept, with a serene yet friendly atmosphere about it. I took a seat toward the back of the room at a round, wooden table, silently observing the scene. A young girl with light hair and an apron drifted over to where I sat.

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked, her voice as light and innocent as her thin tresses. I smiled warmly.

"Ginseng, please."

She nodded once, then turned and started back behind the counter in the front. I took the opportunity to survey the shop more closely. It was very nearly empty, with the exception of a few guests and the young hostess. A couple spoke quietly in the upper-left corner, unconsciously leaning toward one another; probably not the best people to ask, I concluded. I would leave them to each other, for now. Then there was a jet-haired man writing mutely on a sheet of parchment. He seemed to be very absorbed in whatever he was working on, so I promptly decided not to disturb him either. A cup of tea was set down in front of me, the humid steam coming off of it winding and spiraling into the air. I inhaled deeply.

"Why, thank you, miss . . ." I trailed off, turning my gaze up to the fair-haired girl, who appeared to be the shop's sole hostess and waitress at the same time.

"Hinatea," she informed me, looking down at her feet timidly. "Your welcome."

"Miss Hinatea," I said, my voice open and friendly. "Would you mind if I asked you a question? Don't worry, you don't have to answer if you don't want to." The young girl's eyes were slightly confused, but she agreed nonetheless.

"I was wondering," I started, "If you had noticed any unfamiliar faces around here in the past day or so." Hinatea looked up at an angle, as though thinking back through her memory.

"Oh," she said, seeming to remember somebody in particular. Her voice was like the soft cooing of a dove as she told me what she could. "There was a girl who came by here yesterday. She had short, black hair and green eyes and she didn't carry anything with her. Does that help at all?"

"Yes," I assured her. "Thank you very much." Hinatea nodded her head again, then drifted off to tend to another customer. It was exactly as I had thought. I smiled at the coincidence of it all while idly sipping my tea. Fate worked in mysterious ways and this particular instance very much proved it.

Small world, I told myself thoughtfully.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_Knock, knock._

I raised my face off of the pillow and glared at the offending door with all the acidity that I could manage being half asleep. My onyx hair stuck out wildly at odd angles, evidence that my sleep had not been a peaceful one. I glowered at the door a few moments longer, then closed my eyes, letting my face fall back on to the soft cushion.

There was another, more persistent knock.

"Go away, nobody's home," I called, the pillow muffling the words so that they were nearly impossible to understand.

Another knock. I groaned.

"You're going to have to get that," Zuko said dryly, giving me a put-off look from down on the floor. "Because I can't stand up."

"Quiet, hostage," I muttered, propping myself up and letting my feet dangle in front of his face. "It's your own fault." The young prince leaned as far away as the chains would allow, his nose wrinkling in disgust. _Oh, they don't smell that bad_, I thought to myself.

I stood up reluctantly and walked to the door, dreading whoever was on the other side of it and also quite put-out with them for insistently waking me up. I took a deep breath, then pulled the door open to see the old innkeeper smiling at me with annoying warmth that only made me want to slam the door back in her face without even a pleasant 'hello' before proceeding to do so. I exhaled, fighting the overpowering urge to listen to what my cleverly evil instincts were telling me.

"Would you two be interested in dinner, dearie?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, no, thank you," I insisted before Zuko could object, my voice a little more urgent than I had originally meant to let on.

"Are you sure?" she checked pointlessly, sounding a bit disappointed about my hurried refusal.

"Yes," I assured the old woman in the doorway. "In fact, I think it's about time we left." I held my breath, poised and ready to argue in case she tried to stop me from leaving. To my surprise, though, she did not.

"Alright," she said, sounding a little unsure, but apparently not enough to disagree with me. I shut the door the minute the old woman was out of sight and earshot, muttering to myself about crazy, yet sweet, old ladies trying to turn their guests into mindless slaves.

"Alright, Mr. High-and-mighty," I said, turning on Zuko and resting my hands on my hips. "We're leaving, and when I find a new cave, you're sleeping outside. And you'll be tied to a tree like the trapped animal you are."

The young prince looked up at me as if he expected nothing less and did not respond to my threat, instead taking slow, deep breaths and closing his eyes. My lip quirked up as I looked back at him, sorely tempted to leave the next_ lucky _guests a whiny, little spitfire welcome gift. But I needed him for ransom. I sighed as I leaned down to unlock Zuko. It was _so_ impossible to find a cooperative hostage these days.

"Hold still," I told the young prince irritably, trying to get the key into the slot on his chain's padlock. He kept pulling back on it.

"You're about to sit on top of me," he complained, leaning away again as far as he was able. I looked up toward the heavens. _What a baby._

"Oh, for the love of - quit moving, princess!" I pinned Zuko down, shoving his face into the floor with vigor and attempting to unlock him at the same time. He struggled to throw me off, definitely not making the already-difficult task any easier.

"Hey, get off of me, Kaida!" Zuko demanded, his voice shooting up an octave. He tried to flip over so that I wasn't sitting on top of his back, but I just elbowed him in the face and leaned down so he couldn't move. "Would you just let me take it off myself?"

"No!" I shouted, slapping him across the back of the head. There was a nervous call from outside in the hallway.

"Er, is everything alright in there?"

"Everything's peachy," I replied, my voice sugary-sweet compared to the previous shouts and threats directed at prince hot-head. Finally, the padlock unhitched, causing Zuko to roll across the floor and out from under me. I stood up, unconcerned.

"Hmph, that was completely unnecessary," I told him coolly, crossing my arms. He gave me a disbelieving stare, still sitting on the floor and making no move to get up.

"I was going to say the same thing," Zuko replied, scowling at me, as usual.

I waited dully as he stood, noticing, for the first time as he did, that he was taller than me. It wasn't by much, but the height difference was enough that I had to raise my chin to scowl back. Normally, that wouldn't bother me, but there was something undeniably annoying in the fact that I had to look _up _at him. I didn't like it. It gave him the upper hand when it came to intimidation.

I crossed my arms, glowering up at the young prince. We had somewhat of a glare-down then, neither of us keen on looking away. We were both just as stubborn; just as reluctant to show any amount of weakness, lest the other find out about it and expose them. The door creaked open as we glared daggers at each other.

"Oh, am I interrupting . . . ?" The innkeeper trailed off, taking in our hostile body language toward one another. Immediately, the two of us broke apart, as if it could somehow erase her memory if we acted like we hadn't been arguing.

"No," I assured her, my voice untroubled. "We were just leaving."

She nodded, turning with a wary glance and leading us to the door up front. After a stressed thank you, we walked out into the quiet village, only to stop once we were free and wonder what the heck we were going to do next.

"So, what now, genius?" Zuko said snidely. I reached up and put my arms behind my head, letting the sarcasm slide for the moment.

"Now," I said, fully rested from my nap. "We find a _new_ place to hold you prisoner."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Read&Review puhleazzze!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Malo, my lovlies**! **Just to warn you, the flipping and ever-changing POV's in this chappy may just give you whiplash. I do not take responsibility for any whiplash-induced injury XD You have been warned. This is the order, in case you need to know: Zuko, Iroh, Kaida, Zuko, Kaida, Zuko.**

**-B  
**

**Disclaimer: ****This disclaimer does not cover lightning, flood, tornado, tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, hurricanes and other Acts of God, damage from improper reading, incorrect line voltage, broken antenna, electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts, sonic boom, crash, ship sinking or taking on water, motor vehicle crashing, falling rocks, leaky roof, broken glass, mud slides, forest fire, or projectile (which can include, but not be limited to, arrows, bullets, BB's, paintball, lasers, napalm, torpedoes, or emissions of X-rays, Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays, knives, etc.) Oh, and I don't own ATLA. XD**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"So, what now, genius?" Zuko said snidely. I let the sarcasm slide, for the moment.

"Now," I said, fully rested from my nap. "We find a_ new _place to hold you prisoner."

**KAIDA DISAPPEARS. SHOCKER.**

_"What I give form to in daylight is only one per cent of what I have seen in darkness."_  
_ -M. C. Escher_

"No one is going to try and rescue me," I called loudly at the petite shadowbender, who was walking ten yards ahead of me as we searched for a new cave to spend the night.

I didn't know know how long we walked for, but we had been hacking through the woods for a while, and it was starting to get dark. For a long time, I'd tried to count the seconds as they went by - anything to distract me from what was actually going on - but I always got sidetracked and lost my place. The raven-haired girl stopped with a dramatic sigh directed at me.

"You're a prince," She reminded me, as if I needed to be reminded. "Therefore, someone will want you." She turned and continued to walk, speaking with her back to me. "Now, exactly _what_ they want with you, I'm not sure. But just as long as _I_ get what _I_ want," Kaida paused, giving me a backward glance, "I don't really care."

She smirked, then continued on her merry trek through the endless forest. I huffed, trailing after her miserably.

"The only person who might be looking for me is my twisted little sister," I informed Kaida, shuddering at the thought of what Azula would have to say if she found out what was going on here, "And she'd sooner kill you than help get your family back." Kaida snorted.

"Ooo, scary," she said, a quiet smile playing on her lips.

I wanted to say something, to assure her that Azula was the most crooked, insane person she would ever meet and that she should not be taken so lightly, but somehow I doubted that that was true. Kaida stopped once again and, suddenly, our pathway was illuminated by a bright, white glow. Her outheld palm was lit up by an incandescent sphere that hovered just above it. The shadows and light from the orb played across her features like a flickering campfire.

"Now, let's go," she said, her voice more even than before. "The woods at night can get . . . dangerous."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

It was just a quaint, little inn, nothing at all to be concerned with, but something was telling me that I would do well to ask around there. Maybe I would get nothing out if it, but it was worth a try, especially if I did learn something of my nephew and his captor. The door chimed as I pushed it open, alerting an old woman, even older that I was, of my presence there.

"Hello there," she greeted me, wiping the previously troubled look from her face as she turned to me. "One room?" I shook my head good-naturedly, stepping up to the bamboo counter.

"Actually, I was going to ask if you had seen anyone strange lately," I told her, sure to keep the kind smile on my face. The old woman nodded vigorously, her eyes wide.

"There was a very strange couple staying out in a cave. I insisted that they come and stay somewhere proper," she informed me. "To be honest, I don't think they got along very well." I nodded. I had thought this place would be helpful.

"Do you remember what they looked like?" I was fairly certain that it was Zuko and his captor that she was speaking of, but it never hurt to be sure. The old woman nodded.

"A young girl with dark hair and strange eyes, and a young man with a terrible scar."

"Do you remember anything specific about the girl?" I pressed, mentally crossing my fingers.

"Well, I think she was wearing a silver key around her neck," the innkeeper recalled.

Yes, that was precisely what I needed. I was now one-hundred percent sure of the identity of my nephew's mysterious captor. I'd had a hunch for a while, based off of the Lieutenant's and Miss Hinatea's words, but now I was positive that I knew who it was.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

As we made our way through the damp and tangled woods, I couldn't help but wonder about my surprisingly snappy walking companion. After all, what else was there to think about in a forest where everything looked the same? He seemed a lot different from the other nobles and royalty that I had encountered over the span of my still-short life.

Other, _regular_ high-class individuals were extremely arrogant and self-satisfied. They could do no wrong and took pleasure in looking down on other people just for the sake of being superior. But Zuko, as much as I loathed to admit it to myself, was not at all what I had expected. Somehow, he seemed both completely in control of himself, but also extremely short tempered at the same time. I had not thought princes the type to get angry very often, thinking that such things must be outlawed in 'the palace,' but he apparently had too much emotion flowing through him to be the cookie-cutter prince that I had expected him to be. I was beginning to think that I understood why his father had banished him in the first place.

Despite that fact, though, Zuko had not once requested any special treatment, which I was admittedly surprised and slightly impressed about.

"You don't have the slightest idea where you're going, do you?" I heard said prince inquire in his quite abnormally rude manner. I looked back at him over my shoulder. His posture was one thing that gave away his family ties. It remained perfectly upright and aristocratic as his gaze locked with mine.

"Not at all, hostage," I assured him. It wasn't really the truth, but I enjoyed making the boy angry.

"Hostage?" he repeated, and I knew what was coming next. "You know my name. Why don't you use it?" I smiled, but kept on walking. Zuko was almost beside me now as he struggled to catch up.

"Because I can call you whatever I like," I replied smoothly, not breaking stride as we spoke. Or was argued a better word for it? Well, it didn't matter either way. "You're _my _hostage."

Zuko frowned as if something were confusing him. His feet started to slow down, then stopped altogether, as if he could not find a reason to keep following me. I stopped too, arching an eyebrow.

"What?" I said, getting a bit antsy about wandering the forest at night. I could defend myself against whatever the shadow world decided to throw at me, but I couldn't be so sure about the young prince. He was being put in an awful lot of danger by traveling with me. "We have to keep walking."

"What makes you think I'm going to follow you when you don't even know where your going?" he asked suddenly. I smacked my palm against my forehead, groaning and silently asking _'Why me?'_

"I wasn't being serious," I told him, struggling to maintain my temper. "Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?" Zuko quirked an eyebrow. I grimaced. "You know what? Don't answer that."

I turned on my heel and strode forward again, wondering what I had done to deserve this. Okay, so I wasn't exactly Miss Goody-two-shoes, but I wasn't full-blown evil for crying out loud! Zuko followed after me once again, still letting me lead the way slightly. Suddenly, a blood-chilling screech pierced right through the otherwise tranquil night air. I jerked to a halt, causing Zuko to bump into me.

"What-"

"Shhhhh!" I ordered, digging my elbow into his side.

We both stood perfectly still, me listening; Zuko watching me listen. Another screech, causing a flock of birds to abandon their spot up in the canopy. The shadow creature was not dangerously close, but it was near enough to make me anxious. And, though I knew Zuko could not hear the monster's strangled roars, he was still being put in a decent amount of danger by following me around. I pondered my limited options as I listened through the endless black of the night.

"Can I trust your highness to stay here for a minute?" I demanded in a sarcastically rushed tone of voice. Zuko gave me a have-you-lost-your-mind look, but nodded after a short moment's hesitation. I knew he couldn't go anywhere in the pitch black, and apparently he did as well.

"Good," I said curtly, then dashed through the brush toward the sound of the shadow being, leaving the young prince alone in the blinding dark.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I could not see Kaida leave, as she extinguished the glow in her palm before doing so, but I heard her push urgently through the overgrown brush. She was, without a doubt, the strangest girl I had ever met.

One minute, she was acting as if nothing were wrong, then the next, she was rushing off somewhere for no apparent reason. It was as if she were sensitively aware of something that I wasn't, though I didn't see how that could be the case. I looked around, but every direction I glanced was met with nothing but . . . well, nothing. There was no moon hanging in the sky that night to illuminate the forest with it's milky glow. I couldn't see my own hand if it was an inch in front of my face.

I didn't know how long I stood there for; only that I had stopped trying to keep track after a while. Instead, I entertained myself with the fact that if I stared into one particular spot for a few moments, the area around it would start to become an even deeper black than the rest of the forest . . .

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I took off through the night as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was headed exactly, but it didn't really concern me at the moment. I had never done more than ward off the shadow beings, but what I was about to attempt wasn't really much more than that, anyway. I focused on listening to my surroundings, my instincts, anything that could potentially point me in the right direction. Part of me felt like I was in one of my vivid nightmares, but I told myself that it would be easy to get rid of the monsters. I didn't have bending in my dreams, see, which made them all the more horrifying.

I shook my head as I ran. No, I was awake now. I had nothing to be afraid of.

The shadow being let out another shrill cry, causing goosebumps to stand up along my arms like a chilling sleeve. It was very close now. Frighteningly close. I once again let the thin ribbons of light stream and weave themselves around my deceptively fragile-looking wrists. They trailed out behind me like actual ribbons, floating through the self-created wind that was caused as I sprinted in and out between the trees. I finally burst into a large, barren clearing, much like the one I had picked out before.

I skidded to a halt, my already-luminous palms ready at my side. An all too familiar pair of bloodthirsty, vermilion eyes watched me with a predatory light to them. I looked back at it and held my ground, as showing weakness was as good as being dead. You _never_ showed weakness in the presence of a shadow being, unless you had an immediate death wish.

The creature sounded a low growl that rumbled at the bottom of it's chest like an unforgiving earthquake. I kept my expression void, my emerald eyes locked with it's ruby ones, watching closely as the beast's muscles tensed, coiled and about to lunge. I still did not move.

The shadow creature attacked then, it's wolf-like body thrown at me with more force than a ten-ton boulder. That was when I finally acted, spreading a wide shield of light to cover me. The shadow hit the thin force field, causing a shower of sparks to disturb the dark canvas of the night sky. I held up the sheet with difficulty, waiting and watching, then countered with my own offensive attack.

I kicked my bare foot through the transparent safeguard, a bright firework-like spark of it shooting toward the monster. As it made contact with the shadow being, the already bright flare erupted, causing a flash that would have blinded a regular person. I was fully aware that it would not harm the creature all that much. It was more for the amount of light that was released at the impact.I was not disappointed. The moment the flare was triggered, the monster let out a shriek, rearing back on it's hind legs, then retreating back into the forest and away from me and, in the long run, Zuko.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

After who-knows-how-long, I finally sensed someone approaching the spot where I stood in the middle of nowhere. The hair on the back of my neck pricked. I would have thought that it was only Kaida, if the footfalls weren't coming from the complete wrong direction from where she had left.

"Who's there?" I demanded, sparks emanating at my fingertips, still tied uselessly behind me. I mentally cursed the shadowbender for binding my wrists. Fighting would be next to impossible. A dim light came into view.

"It's just me, princess."

I sighed, oddly relieved to hear the stupid whispered nickname. Kaida let the glow in her hands strengthen, making the forest visible once again.

I was a bit shocked when I saw the expression on her face. Rather than the usual careless look that she often wore, Kaida's face was intent and serious. She did not smirk or move with the normal looseness that I had gotten used to. Her eyes were guarded.

"It's not far from here," she told me, walking forward once more. I still did not trust her questionable sense of direction, but, at the moment, I had no choice but to cooperate. I did not like to follow people blindly, but it seemed that I had no other option. If I tried to find my way back out of the endless maze of trees, I would just get myself hopelessly lost.

"What was all that about?" I asked Kaida suspiciously, referring to her unexplained detour into the woods.

"I had to take care of something," she replied simply, not bothering to elaborate. I normally would have argued the topic, but somehow I didn't think I would be getting anything out of her regardless. And she seemed a bit jumpy already, without my bothering her for answers. I would get her to tell me eventually.

Kaida stopped in an open clearing.

"We're here," she announced.

Sure enough, a short inspection revealed a small cave surrounded by an almost-empty, grassy area, not unlike the one we had been staying at before. Kaida turned to me, a small hint of her cocky grin returning.

"And somehow I doubt we'll be meeting any more nosy old people all the way out here," she declared cheerfully, not bothering to conceal the threat as she looked fearlessly into my eyes. I heard a clear, metallic click as the disobedient brat chained me to the tree I was standing next to, a malicious glint in her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, young prince."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: I don't really think that "outheld" is an actual word, but you know what? I just invented it. 8P So, ha!**

**Read&Review!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: G'day everyone! (Yes, Australian slang counts as it's own language in my world) Well, we have another crazy point of view chappy. I'll make sure to give you the order at the end of the Author's note. **

**In other news, I have just confirmed the already suspicious hunch in my mind that anonymous reviewers are the best. Ever. And just because I can't PM you, thanks to Chris and Maddie-kins for your reviews! **

**Anyhoo, here's the POV Order: Zuko, Iroh, Kaida, Iroh, Zuko.**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Freshest if eaten before date on carton. Do not disturb. Please remain seated until the ride comes to a complete stop. Return your seatback and tray table to their normal upright position. Your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. In the event of decreased air pressure, oxygen masks will pop out of the top of your monitor. The call you have made requires a 20 cent deposit. I do not own ATLA. 8P**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I heard a metallic click as the disobedient brat chained me to the tree I was standing next to, a malicious glint in her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, young prince."

**SPARRING AND PERPETUAL TREE PRISONS:**

_"The war between light and dark, as it plays out in present time on this planet,  
is between the philosophy of maximum freedom and maximum control at the expense of freedom."_

Being chained to a tree can really make you realize some things. One of them being how much nicer it is sleeping in a cave. By the time I woke up in the morning, my left hand and lower arm had completely relinquished all feeling except for the occasional pins and needles that were somehow even more uncomfortable than feeling absolutely nothing at all.

The morning air was thick with moisture that only served to add to my already biting discomfort. If there was anything that bugged me to absolutely no end, it was water. I was itching to char something to the ground and evaporate all the humidity right out of the atmosphere. I found my eyes drawn to the sun in longing, wondering offhandedly if I could use dragon's breath without catching myself on fire. (Which would be a very _bad_ thing, seeing that I was stuck to a tree.)

Where was Uncle? I realized, suddenly reminded of him at the thought of dragon's breath, that I had forgotten all about the confusing old man. It didn't take long for my thoughts to turn doubtful, though. He probably thought that I had been taken down during the raid. It wasn't as if he had ever put that much faith in my abilities before. I scowled at the horizon as it slowly turned a pale pinkish color. Did anyone back at the ship actually have the slightest clue what had happened to me? Probably not. I made a mental note to skin their hides the minute I got back.

That was, _if_ I ever got back.

I pressed my hands into the ground on either side of me, my fingers curling in anger. I should have paid more attention while searching that small village for the avatar. Then maybe I wouldn't have been caught and taken so easily, or even at all. It was insulting, to be bested so easily by a mere girl. It made me want to be sick, but then it also made me regretfully impressed with her as well. Either way, though, I was used to dealing with much more helpless girls. The damsel in distress kind who needed saving themselves; not who caused _me_ to need saving. But I knew that Kaida was not like normal girls.

At all.

"Sleep well, princess?"

My head flew up as I looked at the shadowbender. She looked less tired than before. The purple rings under her eyes, though not completely gone, were definitely faded violet compared to the previous morning. Her feet were shoeless, as usual, and my dagger was fastened securely to her hip by the thin rope that she had made the mistake of restraining me with before.

"Fantastic," I muttered darkly, looking up at her from the ground. I got the feeling that she enjoyed being able to tower over me when she could, seeing that I was actually the taller one. She flashed me an impish grin, bending down next to me. I leaned away instinctively as she grasped the padlock that was hanging near my wrist.

"If I have to tell you to quit moving again-"

I immediately held still at the unfinished threat, remembering all too well what had happened the last time. After a moment with Kaida far too close for my liking, the chain swung loose, allowing the blood to soak back into my parched veins again. I shook the limb out as it was engulfed with the annoying prickling sensation as it regained it's color, among other things. Kaida huffed as she straightened herself back up, her expression only marginally vexed, and turned on me.

"You're just lucky I don't knock you right back unconscious after what you tried to pull back there," She said nonchalantly, crossing her arms. She didn't seem that angry, but I could tell that the shadowbender was about ready to chew me out. I returned the stotic stare she was giving me with ease.

"You say that like you could actually put me out," I commented in an equally stotic tone of voice, intentionally taunting the girl. For some reason, I loved making Kaida just as angry as she made me; loved it like my favorite sport. Was that normal? It certainly wasn't rational, but I was beyond being rational with her. The shadowbender scoffed, her face torn somewhere between annoyance and amusement.

"I have already, remember?" she replied, referring to the night she pulled her little sneak attack.

"I wasn't expecting that out of you," I said in my defense. No one in their right mind would have guessed what Kaida was at first glance. I never would have guessed at all, had she not told me straight out. At that moment, she had simply been a strange girl with a very unsettling expression on her face.

"Save your breath, young prince," Kaida said dismissively, walking away from me as if I wasn't even worth her laughing gaze. "I can see what you're trying to pull and it's not going to work." She paused for a moment, her back still toward me, the previous words still hanging in the air between us as she debated internally over something. "But you're wrong." I raised an eyebrow, even though I knew she couldn't see it then. Kaida turned to look over her shoulder, the sly grin still in place. "I could take you down in a heartbeat with my hands tied behind my back."

I didn't know what was wrong with Kaida; only that she was succeeding in making me angrier than I'd been in a long time. It was as if she were alarmingly aware of everything that made me irritated, and had no problem using it to her advantage. How could she expect me to just sit there and wait for her to auction me off to the highest bidder, all the while taunting me about how she was getting a bargain because no one in their right mind could actually want to help me? Did she even have the slightest notion of what she was trying to do? It was impossible. It was deadly.

It was suicide.

"The fire nation is heartless, Kaida," I stated bluntly, addressing, for the first time, the actual issue at hand. "Do you honestly think that they'll just hand over your grandmother and cousin? Just like that?"

Kaida's face puckered slightly as she gave me a cold look. I could tell that I had just hit home, where it hurt the most. Her jade eyes were a mixture of hatred and grief, both fighting each other for control in their glassy depths. In the end, grief won out.

"I have to try," Kaida whispered softly, but looking sharply to the side in a way that contrasted her reserved tone of voice. I said nothing, instead watching the vivid play of emotions in Kaida's eyes: sadness, anger, longing, then determination. She turned back to me, wiping all the previous off of her face. All except for the determination.

"I've changed my mind," she announced with a cool smile. "Suddenly, I feel like beating your butt again."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I turned the partially scorched map over in my hands, trying to figure out where to go from where I currently was.

I had gotten much too excited at the sight of the small, but habitable cave, only to realize, much to my disappointment, that it was already empty and abandoned. I bent down over the put-out pile of charred firewood. It appeared to be relatively new, used maybe a day or so prior. That meant that the hunter and her unfortunate prey could not have gotten far. If I walked quickly, I would be able to catch up with them.

The helpful innkeeper had told me of a second clearing, closer to the grand city of Omashu. It was a quite way's walk from where I was, but I decided that it was probably best for me to get a move on, before my nephew's supposed captor could try anything . . .

rash . . .

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"What's the matter, princess?" I taunted, my eyes resting on the bent over form of the fire prince. Zuko's breath heaved in and out with a slight rasping sound, like he had suddenly developed a serious case of asthma, and his hands rested on his knees as if they were the only things keeping him somewhat upright. Oh, poor, poor Zuko. He should have known better than to get on my bad side, especially about such a touchy subject. And now he was forced to face the dreadful consequences.

Consequences that involved becoming my temporary sparring dummy, emphasis on the dummy.

I suppose it was a _little_ unfair of me to 'forget' to mention to him that I was a master of hand-to-hand combat, but I was having so much fun at the time that what little guilt I _may_ have felt about it under different circumstances was all but drowned out in the end.

"Little girl too much for you?"

Zuko looked up at me then, his teeth clenched forcefully. I stood quite still as the young prince grunted stubbornly, pushing himself up, then charged at me blindly. _Tsk._ He may as well have actually been blind. I ducked low, letting Zuko trip over me. He stumbled, falling face-first into the ground. I sighed. Ahh, nothing like using people's own brute strength against them. He may have been an unusually skilled firebender, but without that gift, the boy was beyond hopeless.

I supposed, then, that it was a good thing that we had agreed not to use our bending abilities. If we had, nothing along the lines of sparring would have ever actually happened. I would smile, disappear, then Zuko would end up burning down the entire forest trying to find me.

And besides, I liked hand to hand combat just as much. Maybe even more while fighting with the fire prince, due to the fact that he was so obviously terrible at it. Nothing more fun than beating someone you don't like at an unfair advantage, I always say. Well, not always, but who cares. I held up my index finger lazily.

"Lesson one:" I announced, taking it upon myself to show the fire brat how fighting was _supposed_ to be done. "Never go for the obvious opening."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"Hmmm," I looked down at the red and white plant that had just caused me to trip. "I could have sworn I've seen that bush before. I squinted at the foliage, leaning down to observe it closer. Suddenly, a small, rodent-like animal poked it's head out and trained it's chocolate-colored eyes on me. I raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. The creature squeaked at the proximity, it's ears going up, then jumped out from the could-be-poisonous plant and bounded back into the forest.

"Yes," I said to myself. "I have definitely been here before." I straightened myself, letting out a frustrated sigh. At that rate, I would never reach my nephew in time to assure that he and his captor did not kill each other.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

Suddenly, Kaida's little sparring match turned into an all out fighting lesson. Apparently, my hand-to-hand combat techniques were not up to her 'hostage standards,' or so she told me when I asked why she would want to teach me in the first place. Now obviously, hostage standards did not exist, but Kaida refused to offer me any other kind of answer.

I had to admit she was good though. After several failed attempts before her anger finally cooled off, I tried coming at her from behind in an attempt to 'not go for the obvious opening,' as she liked to put it. Instantly, Kaida spun around as her eyes opened, (she had this odd wait and listen technique) stepping off to the side and sweeping her right leg around mine. Her heel made contact with the back of my knee, causing the joint to buckle under the impact. Once I was down, Kaida proceeded to dig _her_ knee into my stomach, a smug look on her face, and, as promised, she kept her hands behind her back the entire time.

"You rely too much on your bending, young prince."

Again with the nicknames.

I sighed. Kaida pushed herself up and looked down at me as I proceeded to do the same. Of course I relied on my bending. Was that supposed to be a bad thing? It was a part of me; of who I was. And after all, why work to perfect something that I would never need to resort to? It would be like an expert archer learning to wield a sword. He wouldn't have any need for it as long as he kept his distance. Kaida must have sensed my confusion at her previous statement, because she elaborated on it.

"I know you don't like to consider it," she said with a knowledgeable smirk, "But there will be times when your bending will be useless."

"Why would that concern you?" I asked the shadowbender skeptically, voicing my confusion, yet again, on why she would feel the need to help me with such a thing. She was not concerned about _me_, that I was sure of, but if not me, then what?

"Oh, it doesn't," Kaida assured me in her usual careless manner, our height differences obviously doing nothing to keep her bold attitude at bay. "It just bugs me that you can't fight without a crutch."

_Twitch._

For a moment, we stood in silence, Kaida donning that annoyingly sly expression, and me doing my best to ignore it. I was slightly worried that I might loose my mind before anyone found us. It certainly wasn't that crazy an idea, especially seeing that a certain raven-haired girl had me spiraling ceaselessly in that general direction already.

"I don't need you to teach me to fight," I said finally. Kaida only flashed me a grin and said the words that made me snap, in the end.

"That's debatable."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Okay, so this is kind of a stupid place to stop, but you'll see in the next chapter why I decided to end it here. Until then, my lovlies!**

**Come on, click the pretty review button. You know you want to. *hint, hint***


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Salam! Wow, guys, I have nothing to say except that you are all awesome. No need to elaborate on that. Thanks to Sun daughter for the great advice!**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA, et cetra, et cetra . . .**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

Kaida only grinned and said the words that made me snap, in the end.

"That's debatable."

**THE DRAGON GIVES US A LECTURE**

_". . . But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean."_  
_-Maya Angelou_

I have this thing with my temper, see.

Most of the time I blatantly ignore that little fact and brush it off as the stress of being royalty, or being banished, but that's not always the case. The _cause_, maybe, but not the direct problem. At that particular moment, I was decidedly blaming Kaida for the fact that I used my firebending against her. She had been intentionally aggravating me, therefore it was her own fault. She had it coming, and she was well aware of that.

Not that anything happened, though. At the first attack, Kaida seemed to know precisely what I was doing, which I can't say I enjoyed. And as if she were trying to make it worse, she had that smug, told-you-so look painted all over her face as she took equal advantage of her own bending abilities.

Kaida blanketed herself in the shadows, but something was off. Instead of becoming undetectable, as she had before, the petite shadowbender went an odd sort of transparent, like a vision of a ghost. Confusing, but I was far too aggravated to question it.

She slipped behind me, her movements like a fluid, and not to mention deadly, dance. I turned on her, shooting a jet of white-hot flames in her direction. Kaida ducked out of the way, but not before I managed to sear the top of her shoulder. I had gotten more accustomed to her fighting style over the short time that I'd been with her, which put her at a slight disadvantage that she had apparently not counted on.

The shadowbender let a feral hiss slide out through her tightly clenched teeth, pulling my dagger from the where hung on the side of her belt. Kaida's palms flashed on and off, as if she were unable to keep the flares from lighting up her hands.

"I could blind you right now," she threatened, her voice low and even.

I couldn't tell by simply listening to her voice whether or not she was bluffing, but the logical part of my mind said that she was more than capable of doing what she claimed. I had seen what her strange bending could do, and her pulsing palms were evidence of that. But, as ever, there was the part of my mind that ignored logic and insisted that I try Kaida's patience anyway. I wasn't sure what to listen to: what I wanted to do, or what I knew I should do if I valued my eyesight at all.

In that short second of hesitation, we both had the same terrible idea idea to run straight at one another. It was an anger-fueled game of chicken, and neither of us were going to be the one that veered off to avoid the inevitable head-on collision that was most likely going to occur. It seemed that our personalities simply clashed too much to let us get along for more than a few precious moments at a time.

We were mere yards apart when a crack of spiderwebbed electricity struck the ground right between the two of us, causing us both to stop dead in our tracks. Our eyes landed on the unexpected source of the lightning as they stepped out from the trees.

"That's enough. Both of you," Uncle said sharply.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I stared, completely losing all previous thought of my anger with the fire brat and, instead, pinning my focus on the old man whose two fingers still had smoke spiraling off of them. He looked uncharacteristically livid with the two of us at the moment, but that was not why I could not pry my eyes away.

It was because it was _him_. The strange man that I had only met once before, but who had left such an impression on me that I could not, for the life of me, forget. He was the one who . . . knew.

"You're certainly up to some strange things these days, aren't you, Kaida?" Iroh asked, his stance still fully offensive, as if he expected to need to stop us from killing each other . . . again. I instinctively went on the defensive as a response.

"There have been a few . . . complications," I replied, my voice tight. I could only assume that the retired general was there to rescue his spoiled nephew, and a part of me had been counting on that for my plan to work, but as much as I liked the old man, letting the prince escape was absolutely _out of the question._

Zuko looked lost, his expression hopelessly confused.

"What? You two _know_ each other?" he said incredulously, sounding both disturbed and intrigued at the thought. Much to the young prince's dismay, Iroh and I were more than content to ignore him for the moment, as our matters were significantly more important. The old man looked at me with disapproval.

"You and I both know that this is not the proper way to go about doing this," he said, his index and middle fingers, his lightning fingers, still pointing toward the already charred ground that made a barrier between the prince and I. I scoffed.

"Since when do I do anything the 'proper' way?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes. In the background, I could hear Zuko complaining about 'never being told what's going on.' I rolled my eyes, earning a probably-deserved "Hey!" out of him, which I decidedly ignored.

"Kaida," Iroh sighed, as if he were having to re-explain something incredibly simple to a small child, "Do you honestly think that this crazy plan of your's would work?"

"I-" I hesitated, directing a frustrated look at the leaf-covered ground, then let out a small breath. I felt it as my face visibly fell. "No," I told Iroh truthfully.

He nodded, and, seeming satisfied with my answer, dropped his offensive stance, instead offering me a warm smile. Off to the side, Zuko's fingers were pressed to his temple, his eyes closed as if he would love nothing more than to drown the both of us out. Permanently. And literally, too.

Without a second thought, I spun around right up behind him and pressed the sharp end of my, er, his dagger to his throat. I kept my gaze locked on General Iroh, making sure he wasn't going to try anything. If there was one person on Earth who could possibly outsmart me, it was him. I had to keep on my toes.

"Kaida," Zuko hissed in frustration.

"Oh, shush," I told him, "It's not like you haven't been here before or anything." I let him mull that over, instead turning to his esteemed uncle.

"Come any closer, and I'll kill him."

Prince Zuko stiffened under my hold immediately, but Iroh did not seem worried about the threat.

"You wouldn't," they both said at the same time. It would have been comical not given the circumstances, but I was in no mood to laugh. Zuko's voice sounded as if he didn't believe himself, while the general's voice sounded completely at ease.

"Oh?" I inquired, mostly to Iroh. "And why wouldn't I?" Did he not see the position I was in? It would take merely one, swift motion to put out the fire prince. In a way, it was a sorely tempting thought that all but made the corners of my mouth twitch up.

"You could never kill someone you've come to know as good," he replied. Good? Princess Zuko? What kind of ridiculous notion was that?

"Well," I offered smoothly, "When you find someone good, remind me not to kill them." Iroh gave me a not-so-amused look that would've sent ice through a weaker soul's blood. I tightened my grip on Zuko's dagger, rolling my eyes.

"What makes you think that I've gotten to know _him_?" I demanded, giving the prince a distasteful glance, which he returned happily. "Or that I think he's good?" Iroh just smiled knowingly in a way that I had learned to closely associate with him about to win an argument.

My eyes narrowed.

"Do you think that I only just got here?" he said with a mischievous grin. Zuko and I were apparently on the same page about how we felt about that particular bit of information.

"You were here earlier?" he demanded, looking amazed in a furious kind of way. As if he were amazed that his uncle was stupid enough not to try and get him out earlier.

"Actually," Iroh replied cheerfully, "I've been here all night." Zuko gagged. I tilted my head in confusion.

"And you did nothing then because . . ." I quirked an eyebrow, clearly not understanding. To my shock, Iroh offered me a low bow in greeting.

"It is a pleasure to see you again," the elderly man said sincerely, with an equally sincere smile. "Even if it is because you kidnapped my nephew and planned to use him to bribe the fire nation."

The blood boiled under my skin, causing my cheeks to all but ignite under the heat of the blush painting them. Something about former General Iroh made me feel incredibly small and insignificant as I was called out. Even if I was in an effective position to kill his own nephew, it seemed as if he somehow still had the upper hand in the matter. Zuko grumbled offhandedly, muttering a stream of curses, all directed toward the elderly retired general. And something about tea.

"So," the Dragon of the West started, a curious expression sneaking it's way across his weathered features, "That is why Prince Zuko and I are going to help you do this the _right_ way."

_"What?" _I exclaimed at the exact same time as the fire prince.

It was the first time Zuko and I had ever agreed on anything.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Haha, don't you just love Iroh? And poor Zuko being used for bait all the time. Anyhoo, this is where the story really gets going. The plots and ideas start to mesh together to form one heck of a storyline. Er, well, at least I think it's going to be. I haven't actually written that storyline yet, but it's somewhere in my head. 8)**

**See that button right down there? Yeah, it leads to the mystical land of Ava McKenna's happiness. You should click it.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Kia orana! Zomg, can you believe it? I don't know about you, but a 3036 word chapter is a difficult thing for me to pull off. In fact, this is the first time I've ever actually succeeded in doing it. Of course, it was partially due to a rather stupid accident on my part, but who cares? Three thousand words, baby! Whoot, whoot!  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: I am fifteen, therefore I own nothing.  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"So," the Dragon of the West started, a curious expression sneaking it's way across his weathered features, "That is why Prince Zuko and I are going to help you do this the _right_ way."

**I AM WRONGLY ACCUSED OF BEING A NIGHTLIGHT**

_"Light thinks it travels faster than anything, but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds that the darkness has always gotten there first, and is waiting for it."  
_**  
**

I was so shocked to the core that I even let my arm fall from it's place at Zuko's throat. Apparently the fire prince was just as dumbstruck, though, because he made no move to put any distance between us. We just gawked wordlessly at Iroh like he had grown wings and a tail. Zuko was the first to say something.

"You can't be serious, Uncle," he said blatantly, looking betrayed. "She puts me through all that, and you expect me to stay with her?" Zuko thrust his arm out in my direction, an expression of blunt disbelief painted all across his features. I crossed my arms, sniffing indignantly.

"Maybe if you weren't such a baby, it wouldn't have seemed so bad," I offered, ignoring his fuming response and instead turning back to Iroh. "And what makes you think I need help?" I wasn't doing _that _bad a job, was I? I mean, sure I didn't really know exactly what to do with Zuko if no one took up my offer, but I would come up with something else eventually. The general smiled knowingly.

"Oh, just a hunch, I suppose," he replied.

"It's not as if you could do anything," I told him sadly, but truthfully. After all, Zuko was about as loved there as I was, meaning not at all. And Iroh, well, Iroh was with Zuko. They were the probably two least likely people to get into the fire nation besides the rumored Avatar, himself. Iroh did not seem concerned with that fact.

"No," Zuko declared with finality. "I am not helping this human nightlight invade my own country."

"Oh, I'm the nightlight now, am I?" I demanded shrilly. "You're just as much of a nightlight as I am, sparks! You just can't control it the way that I can."

Zuko groaned.

"Can't you use my name for once?" He closed his eyes like things made more sense when he didn't have to look at me.

"I'll use it when you live up to it," I countered sharply, whipping around to face him.

"That is enough! Both of you!"

Iroh marched in between the two of us, pushing us apart but keeping our shoulders both firmly in his grip, as if he didn't trust our impulsive actions and tempers."You're working together and you're going to like it," the general stated with finality clear in his tone. "Besides, I believe I still owe you a debt, Kaida."

I froze, the anger and frustration starting to seep out of my body. He still remembered that? I mean, it had happened years ago. I had almost forgotten that he had insisted on repaying me, despite my constant protests to the contrary.

"You know I never required you to repay me," I reminded him, looking away. "It was nothing. It wasn't even difficult." Zuko rolled his eyes at us.

"Would it even do anything to ask what you're both talking about?" he questioned sarcastically. I didn't say anything, but instead let Iroh answer that one for himself. After all, I just wanted to let it go. Iroh smiled, probably at the . . . interesting memory, then turned to Zuko.

"Almost three years ago, Kaida saved my life."

In the back of my mind, I heard Zuko ask Iroh _how_ exactly I had done that. I honestly didn't care if he told him, but Iroh just told Zuko that if I wanted to, then I would explain it to him myself. They probably looked over at me but I was too lost in the realm of my own memories to pay much attention . . .

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_ It happened when I was twelve. I was young, I was confused and I was lost. _

_ I was very, very lost. _

_ And in more ways than just one. I was wondering the woods just after my only two remaining family members had been taken from me. It was starting to get dim and, for the first time in years, I was frightened of it. It was irrational for me to be afraid. I had worked my . . . whatever-it-was into perfection a while back. I was able to keep an expertly conjured light shield around me for hours at a time. I did not need to be afraid of the shadows, but I was._

_ They seemed to shift with my movements, watching and waiting for night to fall so to finally take me out. They were closing in on all sides, and doing so fast. I couldn't wait any longer. I fixed a screen of light around me. What little faith I had in my odd ability is what kept me going; searching desperately for a village, a campsite, anything but nothing. I had learned that nothing was usually not nothing, but something unseen waiting to strike. Nothing, to me, was death._

_ And I certainly did not want that._

_ There was something up ahead, through the trees. I stepped closer, praying it was somebody's camp. A brief inspection confirmed my hopes. There was a ready-to-light fire pit and a small tent off to the side. I wasn't sure what to do. What if it was abandoned? Or the owners of it were out? Would it be right of me to slip inside the tent in their absence?_

_ I did not need to find out, as an old man stepped out of the makeshift shelter. I shied back behind a massive oak, but kept careful watch to see what he would do. He stretched himself out, yawning, then walked over to the fire pit. My eyes trailed his every movement, then widened as he started the fire by a jet of flame right from his palm. He was a fire bender._

_ I shut my eyes tightly, torched memories of the morning flooding back into my unwelcoming consciousness. Visions of fire nation soldiers overtaking the blazing inferno that used to be my home. I gritted my teeth, attempting to shove the image back where it belonged: out of my head._

_ No. I would absolutely _not_ ask this man for help. I would sooner die to the shadow beings-_

_ "You're a bit young to be wandering around by yourself, don't you think?"_

_ I jumped, the light image around my body shattering as I scrambled to turn around. The old man was there, watching me. What had he seen? Had he noticed the shield? I mentally slapped myself. Stupid. Of course he had!_

_ "Would you like to come sit around a warm fire?" He offered a hand down to help me up. "It's rather cold out here." I refused it, standing on my own and backing as far into the tree as my body would allow._

_ "I will _not _join a firebender," I spat, the threat sounding quite strange on my childish voice. I glowered up at the old man, who only smiled back with a softened gaze._

_ "Would you, perhaps then, join a lonely old man?" he offered kindly. I wanted to tell him to go away, that I would rather die than come within ten miles of his camp, but it appeared that I had no choice but to agree. I said nothing, but followed the old man back to the camp site. He sat down on a large, fallen tree between the tent and the now-blazing fire. I took a seat in the grass on the opposite side, as far away as was possible, my form half-concealed in the shadows. I kept my expression void._

_ "So, what is a nice girl like you doing way out here?" The old man inquired as he started a kettle of tea on the fire. Nice girl? I glared at him through the embers. How dare he sit there and pretend that he wasn't a cold-blooded murderer!_

_ "Your people destroyed my home," I said icily, drawing a ragged breath as I fought to keep my composure. The old man gave me a sympathetic look._

_ "I am sorry," he said, sounding sincere about it. "They can often be horribly mislead and cruel to humanity." I gave him a sideways glance. Whatever I had expected in his response, it had not been that. Was it a trick? Likely._

_ "And why should you be any different?" I questioned with acid suspicion. The spite in my tone made it sound like an accusation rather than a question. The man chuckled quietly, giving me an impressed look. I waited, guarded, for his response._

_ "I suppose I am not much better than them," he admitted sheepishly. I narrowed my eyes. His answer confused me to no end. I had expected him to defend himself against my insults and badmouthings._

_ "Then why do you seem different?" I asked accusingly after a short pause, as if he were confusing my judgments on purpose. He did not answer; just laughed softly again._

_ "What is your name, little one?" he inquired politely. I pressed my lips together stubbornly, still very reluctant to tell this man anything. It wasn't until he told me that I did not have to tell him my name if I didn't want to, that I finally did._

_ "Kaida Hotaru."_

_ The old man nodded in understanding, as if my name made some kind of sense to him._

_ "It is a very fitting name for you," he commented. I frowned. Was that a compliment? He was a very odd old man._

_ "Why are you helping me?" I demanded, trying to locate some sort of nonexistent evil motive behind the man's actions. Not that the demands of a twelve-year-old girl are often taken seriously. Instead of answering my question, the old man smiled and voiced his own opinion on my bitterly distrustful attitude._

_ "You are quite wise for your age, young shadowbender," he observed, his gaze on me. _

_ I blinked._

_ "What?"_

_ I was so shocked to hear those words that I almost forgot to hate him for a moment. What, exactly, had he meant by that? Shadowbender? Of course! It made so much sense I wanted to cry, or jump up in the air, maybe._

_ "What did you call me?" I said again, more persistently that time, my voice drenched in curiosity. I needed to know if he understood my power, this thing that I could do, because I did not. Not in the least._

_ "Well, you are obviously able to manipulate the darkness in the environment that surrounds you," the man said, as if it were clear as daylight. I could feel myself leaning forward, clinging to every word as if my own life depended on it. Suddenly, my mind was overwhelmed with a flood of questions for the fire nation man. Unconsciously, I stood up._

_ "How did you know that?" I asked, quite boldly for a twelve year old. "Are there others like me? Have you met them? Do you know where they are?" I paused, taking a long, deep breath to slow myself down. "Who are you?"_

_ The man smiled up at me, since I was standing and he was not to be bothered to._

_ "Oh, you can just call me Iroh."_

_ "Iroh," I repeated, walking toward him slowly. I still was not even close to trusting this man, but he had answers. And oh, how I wanted those answers. It was what I had been searching for ever since I was a toddler. I wanted, no, needed to know what I was and why the shadow beings were always coming after me. It was a desire, a necessity. It was vital to my very survival. If I could only know and understand these things, maybe then I could end it once and for all._

_ I was about to ask him, too. I was so close that I could taste the words right at the tip of my tongue. Maybe I would have gotten my answers that night, and maybe not. It didn't matter, though, because right at that moment, a shadow being came roaring out of the forest and landed in a crouch right where I had been sitting mere seconds ago. I jumped back in shock, Iroh doing the same with surprising quickness._

_ The monster clawed at the dirt below it's bear-like feet, letting out a snort and training it's bloody gaze on us. _

_ "Walk backward slowly," Iroh instructed, his voice deadly calm. I looked over at him in confusion. Could he . . . ?_

_ "Can you see it?" I asked, my voice incredulous. What on Earth was going on here? I had not been so confused since I realized my grandmother could not see that shadow creatures, and now it was for the complete opposite reason. My head was spinning like a Leila's old, toy top. I couldn't get ahold of myself. Iroh shook his head, much to my surprise and disappointment._

_ "No," he replied intently, his eyes fixed on the monster's feet, "But I can see what it is doing to the campsite."_

_ Of course. That made sense. The dust and debris that was kicked up by the monster would not go unnoticed by others. I did not know why I had not thought of that before. But I did not have time to ponder it at the moment. It seemed that the shadow creature was trying get around the blazing hearth and over to us. I suspected that Iroh was making the fire bigger so that it would be more difficult to navigate around. I felt a grudging pang of thanks toward the man._

_ I had been very off guard, at least with the shadow world, because I had assumed that the luminous campfire would keep the monsters at bay the same way that my power did. Or I supposed it was my 'bending' now. Either way, I had not anticipated an attack from the world of the night._

_ "Get behind me, please, Iroh," I instructed calmly. Any other adult would have hesitated or told me to get myself somewhere safe and let them handle it, but Iroh simply stepped behind me without even a game of twenty questions. My expression softened as he did so, fully confident in my judgment and abilities. It felt . . . nice to be listened to for once._

_ Fueled by a new-found confidence, I lit up an orb of light the size of a boulder and split it into a hundred thin, spear like daggers. Completing a full rotation, I sent all hundred of them hurdling toward the shadow monster at once. In a spectacular show of light that I assumed even Iroh could see, the spears disintegrated the creature. Small flecks of light floated down to the ground as the the artificial sunlight slowly faded back into nighttime._

_ "Thank you, Miss Hotaru," Iroh said gratefully. I turned around to blink at him in question. "I believe you just saved my life."  
_

_ Afterward, he gave me a comfortable place to sleep after pointing out the direction of the closest village to where we were. I slept soundly that night, not a single nightmare disturbing my rest, but when I woke up the next morning, he was gone._

_ I never even got the answers I'd been so badly hoping for._

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Okay, that flashback was soooo long, and I'll tell you why, because it wasn't supposed to be. So, while I was writing this chapter I was somewhat distracted and **_**completely forgot the part where Kaida saves Iroh's life**_**, which is stupid because that was the whole point of the flashback to begin with. But I liked everything that I had already typed up, so I just ended up having to tack that part on to the end of the story. Anyhoo, Read&Review!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Salut! Are my chapter titles fun, or what? Haha. I enjoy coming up with them very much. XD**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: I own Kaida, Leia, Hinatea and any other random OC I decide to throw in here. I do not own ATLA.  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I slept soundly that night, not a single nightmare disturbing my rest, but when I woke up the next morning, he was gone.

I never even got the answers I'd been so badly hoping for.

**PAGING DR. ZUKO**

_"To rid ourselves of our shadows-who we are-we must step into either total light or total darkness."_  
_-Jeremy Preston Johnson _

In the end, Uncle had won the argument. He always did, I supposed. Even teamed up for once, Kaida and I were not enough of a force to get him to change his mind. I was not very pleased about that, to say the least. And to make matters worse, he had also agreed with the idea of Kaida giving me hand to hand combat lessons. And that was one thing I did _not _have Kaida's backup on.

"You can not rely on your bending, Zuko," he argued as I struggled pointlessly with a particular technique. I breathed out sharply in frustration, internally cursing whatever higher power took so much pleasure in making me suffer. The odds were not stacked up in my favor at two against one, and I was feeling it on the receiving end.

It seemed that Kaida was out to get me for severely burning her shoulder. Every 'training method' she decided to impose on me was extremely dangerous and laced with a burning requititence that she was not even trying to conceal. Every place she'd landed a hit on me felt as if the pain had been amplified ten times the normal potency. In her anger, she had even managed to draw blood in a few places. _Crazy woman, trying to kill me_.

"Why on earth would I _not_ rely on my bending?" I demanded, watching as a newly spilt drop of blood treaded down my left cheek. Kaida looked on cheerfully, and appeared to be thoroughly enjoying our little training session. She had a satisfied smirk on her face as she observed the most recent gash she had inflicted on me as a small amount of crimson seeped it's way out. Sadistic, little brat.

"You must be flexible when you battle," Uncle replied shortly. "Again."

I sighed, but turned back to Kaida. She grinned maliciously, as if giving me a spoiler as to what was about to happen. She then turned to face the opposite direction, closing her eyes and interlocking her fingers behind her back. It seemed as though it would be simple to put her out, to a stranger at least, but I knew better. Deep in her mind, I knew that she was already watching the progression of every move that each of us would take over the next thirty seconds.

"Use the dagger too, sparks," Kaida called blindly over her shoulder. "I think I'm ready for an actual challenge, now." I tried not to react to the snide comment on impulse, calmly gripping the blade that she only gave back to me for practice.

I still couldn't get over her appearance. She looked incredibly small and defenseless, which did not make attacking her any easier. As much as I knew she would like to think so, I was more opposed to fighting helpless girls than she would guess. Not that Kaida was helpless - she wasn't, in any way, shape or form - but she _was_ still a girl. I had been raised to treat women with respect, but she made it incredibly difficult to follow through.

If it weren't for that mocking glint in her eyes, one would never guess Kaida to be a threat to unsuspecting attackers. She clearly recognized every commonly underestimated physical appearance she possessed and used it to her advantage. If someone thought that her thin frame, or the fact that she was short would put them at an advantage, they had another thing coming when they tried to take her out.

But even recognizing that crucial fact was not enough to assist me when I tried to hit her. She hardly moved from her original spot, yet she still managed to dodge every swing of my dagger. Her movements were fluid, like running water. The way she ducked and dodged, even while not bending, were very much like that of a waterbender. On the other hand, though, her aggressiveness when she leapt up and kicked me square across the chest most closely correlated with firebending. Her fighting style was like a strange combination of two opposites; fire and water, aggressive and docile.

I glowered up at the tiny girl. From the ground, of course.

"You're far too predictable, young prince," she called with a delighted grin, watching me stand back up. Normally, it would've been extremely embarrassing, but that same thing had happened so often in the past hour that I was long over it. "Honestly, I knew what you were going to do before _you_ did."

Uncle nodded in agreement.

"How about you two switch places?" he offered. Kaida shrugged, knowing full well that she could inflict revenge either way. In fact, she could most likely cause _more_ damage if we switched. I was not going to enjoy this.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

Immediately after our seemingly endless sparring lesson was over, Kaida disappeared off into the forest somewhere, off to do . . . well, whatever it was that Kaida did. I turned to Uncle once she was out of sight, only just noticing something that I had failed to since she'd first mentioned the word 'shadowbender' to me.

"I just realized something," I told him, my eyebrows knitting together.

"What's that?" he questioned, watching the patch of trees the girl had vanished into.

"Kaida calls herself a _shadow_bender," I started. Uncle met my gaze with a 'Go on' look. "How is it that she can manipulate light _and_ darkness, then?"

"Ahh," Uncle nodded, smiling in his usual way, "I asked her about that the night that we met." He had me sit down next to him on the ground as he explained Kaida's bizarre bending style to me.

"According to Miss Hotaru, just as she is able to concentrate the shadows into one particular area, she can also banish them all together. And, so, if she eliminates the darkness in an area, all that is left to fill the void is light, because light is, essentially, the absence of darkness," He smiled at some thought in his head. "It's actually a rather clever concept."

I nodded absently. That made sense. So all she would have to do to make, say, a shield would be to bend all the darkness out of a particular area where she wanted it to appear. But it seemed like it would require an unheard amount of focus and concentration to get the right shape that she wanted. Then again, light and darkness were probably separate entities altogether than the original four elements. No doubt they were completely unique to control.

I got up suddenly, walking toward the forest.

"Where are you going?" Uncle inquired slyly, sounding annoyingly as if he already knew.

"River."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I hugged my knees closer to my body.

It wasn't helping me get any warmer but it somehow made me feel more . . . I don't know, supported? Yes, supported by my knees. Very sad and strange, but what did I care? It wasn't like any one would be able to find me way down by the river.

I looked out at the dimming horizon. It would be lovely to say that it was one of those spectacular, tangerine-colored sunsets, but that would be lying. There were no striking salmon pinks or blood reds that painted the slipping sky. No, the day was simply ending. Nothing celebrated it's so-called 'glorious' transition into night. But I preferred it that way. The dark was not something to be celebrated, after all. It did nothing for any of us.

I gingerly rested my chin on my knees, letting my eyelids slip and then close. Under my bare feet, the cold water trickled by, searching for a way around and through the pebble-covered bank. Absently, I picked a handful of the tiny stones up with my eyes still closed, threading my fingers down into the ground in search of a smooth one. The sound they made against each other soothed me in an odd sort of way. One by one, I dropped the pebbles back into the stream, listening to nothing but the quiet splashing sound as they fell.

The light shifted behind me. A slight change, but I could tell who it was. I sighed. There truly was no rest for the wicked.

"What do you want, sparks?"

There was absolutely no reason for him to be there disturbing me when I was in the middle of _attempting to not be disturbed._ Unless, of course, the young prince had a very painful and extended death wish that involved slowly dissolving due to an unexplained white-hot light of unearthly proportions.

I could. And I _would._

I heard him stop moving abruptly, as if he thought he could fool me. I supposed that he must have realized that I knew he was there because he walked over to stand beside me. I did not bother to acknowledge Zuko's presence. He did not deserve it anyway. No doubt, he had come to irritate me some more. I waited silently and uninterestedly for the prince to state his business, but he did not.

Half curious and half annoyed, I opened my eyes to look up at him. My gaze widened questioningly as I took in what I was seeing.

Zuko had a pocket knife and a roll of white cloth in his left hand, the other clenched into his usual fist. It was an awfully good thing I knew better, because it almost appeared as if the young prince were going to . . . I arched a silent eyebrow. His eyes were, sadly, unreadable, but it was his voice that have him away.

"Well?" he demanded. "Are you going to sit there all day, or are you going to let me treat your burn?"

I can't say that I enjoyed having Zuko so close to me with a knife, but in the end I decided to just suck it up and bite my tongue. Instead, I let my mind struggle to ponder the possible motives behind what he was doing. Was it really possible that he felt _guilty_ about burning me? Not likely. He had killed hundreds of people without a second thought. But _why _then? His actions confused me to no end and it was driving me insane. Obviously, I don't like being confused.

After Zuko had cut the cloth into the right width strips, he sat them aside by the bank and lightly took my upper arm. It was a very odd feeling; Zuko trying to 'help' me in any way. I decided to speak then.

"Have you told your uncle, yet, that he has no idea what he's getting himself into?" I asked in an even tone, watching as the young prince cleaned out my wound with a damp rag. It stung, but not badly enough that I felt the need to pull away or anything like that. I supposed it was right of me to think that he had quite a bit of experience in treating burns. His ember eyes rose to meet mine for a fraction of a second, then went back to my shoulder.

"You should give him more credit," Zuko replied, but his tone was not harsh or angry. It was, for once, calm. "He seems crazy a lot of the time, but sometimes I think it's just an act he pulls so that people won't take him too seriously. I'm guessing he hasn't been letting you call him _'general' _Iroh?"

A small part of me wanted to ask Zuko what kind of an act he was currently trying to pull, but I wasn't so sure which part _was_ the act at that point: the human-seeming Zuko who was now beginning to wrap the bandages over my burn, or the angry murderer who caused it in the first place. I shook my head, keeping my eyes trained on his hands.

"Why are you helping me?" I demanded out without thinking. Zuko looked at me and I elaborated, my voice childlike in confusion. "Your uncle told you to, right?" It was the only explanation that made sense to me. The young prince finished tying off the bandages, shaking his head.

"No," he replied, standing up, sounding just as perplexed about his motives as I was, "My conscience did."

As Zuko walked back toward the camp, only one thing was going through my baffled mind:

_Zuko has a conscience?_

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: You know what? I make up a lot of words that sound like they're real when I'm writing. Anyhoo, Read&Review!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Reviewers are amazing. As usual. And I love you. As usual. Keep it up!  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own ATLA.  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

As Zuko walked back toward the camp, only one thing was going through my already baffled mind:

_Zuko has a conscience?_

**I GET MY OWN POSTER**

_"In Fire There Is The Spark Of Chaos & Destruction, The Seed Of Life.  
In Ice There Is Perfect Tranquility, Perfect Order, & The Silence Of Death"_

"Wrong!"

I shoved Zuko with all my strength, causing him to lose his balance and stumble forward. I really needed a more productive way to get my frustration out, but we had been at it for hours and the unteachable prince and I were getting absolutely nowhere. He simply would _not _follow instruction, although I supposed it had a bit to do with the fact that _I _was the one giving those instructions. Zuko opened his eyes again after catching himself on a luckily placed tree and glowered at me.

"What did I do this time?" he demanded, obviously not fazed by my irritation anymore. Tch, as if he couldn't figure that out on his own. He hadn't moved at all. Not an inch! Did he think that we were going to get anywhere if he refused to cooperate? I would accidentally kill him before that happened!

"Nothing!" I exclaimed, my voice heated. "You did absolutely nothing. You have to _listen, _sparky! You depend too much on yourself, and frankly you're not good enough to do that yet. Rely on your instincts and surroundings."

The prince huffed, his entire frame heating up. I sighed. There had to be some way to teach him this concept. I needed to come up with a new method; a different approach. Something that would require him to wait and listen instead of relying on his bending and eyesight. Your eyes can only tell you so much, and sometimes, they lie. I needed to get that point through that thick head of his somehow . . .

"Oh!" I said in revelation. How stupid of me! "Why didn't I think of that before?" Zuko turned warily.

"Think of what before?"

I smiled evilly, turning back to the undignified prince. He narrowed his eyes at my cruelly entertained expression.

"I think it's about time we put the lights out, young prince," I informed him cheerfully. He frowned, if possible, even more than before, a look of dread written plainly across his features. _Oh, am I really that scary?_ I supposed I was.

I proceeded to complete the usual set of motions that slowly caused the tension of darkness in the area to increase. It did not get any darker, but the pressure of the shadows steadily built up all through the clearing. Finally, I executed the final move: I snapped and everything was gone.

"Oh!" I heard Iroh breathe out suddenly from the mouth of the cave. Whoops. I completely had forgotten that he was sitting so close to watch us train, and must have blanked his vision as well by accident. I blushed in apology, though I knew he could not see it at the moment.

"Sorry, Iroh!" I called blindly through the shadows. "I forgot you out here too."

"That's okay," he called back with his usual casual mannerism. "I don't mind." He chuckled lightly. Well, at least _somebody _there didn't mind the dark, I thought pointedly in Zuko's general direction.

Without warning, I started to creep toward the young prince. I doubted he was paying the slightest bit of attention, but that would soon be fixed. He had to learn at some point that I wasn't always going to warn him when I was coming. After all, enemies did not warn you when they were going to kill you, so why should I? He was at a bit of a disadvantage, or a bit more of a disadvantage than he already was, because, as a firebender, Zuko naturally emitted a fair amount of heat from his body. I could almost paint an outline in my mind consisting of his exact location and stance, all by locating and observing that source of heat.

He was in a guarded position about ten feet away, looking in the decidedly wrong direction.

_Oh, why not have a little fun, here?_

I tiptoed up behind him very slowly, a grin sneaking it's way across my features. Once I was close enough that he would otherwise hear me, I cut off my breathing altogether so as not to make him aware of my presence. Slowly, deliberately, I leaned in behind him. Soon, I was right at his ear, so close that I could even feel the concentrated waves of heat coming off his body. I smiled, poised my lips just so, and whispered . . .

"Boo."

"What the-?"

There was a clear and defined _thump _as Zuko hit the ground. Again. The self-made midnight of mine shattered back into daylight as I doubled over in a sudden fit of laughter that only got worse as I caught the look on the prince's face. He was fuming, I could tell, but his face was chalky white, as if he'd seen his life flash before his temporarily sightless eyes. Obviously, he had not been expecting that.

"I have to say, that was a whole new kind of terrible, young prince," I informed him flippantly between giggles, straightening out my posture. "Do you realize how long I was standing behind you?" Suddenly, his ghostly pale complexion was replaced by a vivid, carmine-red as the blood flooded back into his face in a rush of embarrassment. He refused to meet my gaze as he pointed out an obvious fact of life.

"Why is it that I'm always the one on the ground while you laugh like a maniac?"

I looked up and shrugged as if to say, 'It's the natural order.' I restrained myself from actually voicing that particular opinion, though. No need to break the surprisingly cooperative atmosphere between the two of us just yet. Zuko pushed himself up without a second thought. It seemed that being knocked over was becoming something of a daily routine for him. I actually kind of missed when he would freak out about his pride being incinerated by a lunatic and her shadowbending. Oh, well. I'd just have to find a new way to take him out of his comfort zone.

"Speaking of maniacs," I started, turning to Iroh, who sat on a boulder just outside the cave, sipping on some foul-smelling breakfast soup. I took a mental note to never try his cooking, regardless of how non life-threatening he insisted it was. "Do you have a plan on how we're going to rescue Leila and my grandmother?"

The retired general suddenly pulled a map, seemingly out of nowhere, and spread it out along the slab of granite that he was using as a table. Zuko and I both drifted closer to get a better look. I blinked in surprise. It was a full, perfectly up-to-date map of the fire nation. Every detail, every back-wood trail, every insignificant, little town . . . it was all there in perfect detail and precision. I was about to ask who he stole it from, but Zuko beat me to the question.

"Where did you get that, Uncle?"

We watched the old man expectantly, our interest effectively stolen. He smiled back at us proudly.

"I made it, of course," he replied simply. "I _did_ live there all my life, you know."

"This is perfect," I mumbled, mostly speaking my thoughts out loud, but to myself. "All we have to do is go off of this . . . figure out where they're being kept . . . map out an escape route . . . set up a getaway . . ." I bent over the worn and torn piece of paper, my mind already whirring, calculating the best times and places to execute the rescue, the most effective pathways to take when getting in and out of the line of defense that surrounded the country. My index finger trailed over the map as I tried to figure out the most likely place where my family would be kept prisoners.

"Ah, not so fast, Kaida," Iroh warned, snapping me out of my concentrated trance. I looked back at him in question. Couldn't he see I was busy thinking? "We need to think this through _very_ thoroughly before we go charging in there." I frowned. He was right, of course, but I was still disappointed.

He made me feel like a child. The way that he looked at me as if I needed a family, his seemingly infinite pool of wisdom and the way he simply brushed all of it off, as if it were nothing. I couldn't help but feel ignorant every time I was in the old man's presence and, needless to say, I didn't like that.

"What should we do, then?" I asked, confusion evident in my tone. Iroh thought that over for a moment, looking thoughtfully down at the map.

"First," He started, "Zuko needs to learn how to fight you without ending up on the ground. We'll see where things go from there."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"Kaida!"

My gaze snapped up just in time to catch Zuko's as he called my name over his shoulder, waving me over. He stood by a tree with a nail hammered into the trunk, a yellowed square of paper clutched in his hand. There was a small rip at the top, so I assumed that it must have been nailed to the tree. I stopped in front of him.

"I think we may have a problem," he said gravely, handing the sheet over to me.

"What's this?" I inquired, turning the paper rightside up in my hands. No. Not a paper, I realized. A wanted poster. With _my _picture on it.

**WANTED: KIADA HOTARO  
REWARD OF 1000 GOLD PIECES **

**DESCRIPTION:**

**HAIR: BLACK****  
EYES: GREEN  
FEMALE**

**WANTED FOR:  
KIDNAPPING THE PRINCE OF THE FIRE NATION.**

**MAY BE ARMED AND DANGEROUS**

**TIPS AS TO THIS FUGITIVE'S WHEREABOUTS WILL BE REWARDED TO A LESSER EXTENT.****  
ALL INFORMATION REGARDING FUGITIVE IS TO BE REPORTED TO PRINCESS AZULA OF THE FIRE NATION UPON READING.  
ANYONE FOUND HELPING FUGITIVE WILL SUFFER SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES.**

I gaped.

"They spelt my name wrong!" I exclaimed, my voice shooting straight through two octaves. How dare they spell my name wrong! I reread the wanted poster, my expression growing more livid by the minute. Zuko's palm smacked loudly against his forehead.

"I just handed you _your own __wanted poster_, and all you can honestly say is bothering you is the fact that they spelt your name wrong?" he said, his voice laced with disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Come on," I said urgently, ignoring the prince's rant on my sanity and turning back toward camp. "We have to get this to your uncle before-"

"Not so fast."

Suddenly, a dark-haired girl flipped lithely down from a tree, almost directly above me. I took a step back, watching her suspiciously as she straightened out her posture. Her topaz eyes had a sadistic light to them, the kind of look that even I was not keen on messing with. She let a twisted smile grace her features as her eyes locked on Zuko, who I noticed had come to stand beside me without my realizing it. His fists were clenched so tight it looked painful. The girl spoke.

"It's been a while, Zuzu."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Aww, poor Kaida and Zuko. I have just added one more problem to their already growing list of problems. Kaida needs to rescue her family, Zuko still needs to find Aang (we won't get to that one for a while), Kaida and Zuko have yet to get through a whole chapter without arguing and now Azula's here! And there are still more, I just haven't added them to the plot yet. **

**It's like a delicious, multilayered problem-cake!**

**Haha, yeah. I'm obviously very hyper at the moment. Anyhoo . . .**

**Read&Review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hayello! Wow, guys. Now I'm really worried about getting Azula's character spot-on, haha. Go easy on me, kay? I've never written her before. Anyhoo, I'll just stop blabbing now, 'cause I know you just came for the story. XD  
**

**- B**

**Disclaimer: New game! It's called "Let's Not Sue Ava McKenna!"  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

Suddenly, a dark-haired girl flipped lithely down from a tree, almost directly above me. I took a step back, watching her suspiciously. Her topaz eyes had a sadistic light to them, the kind of look that even I was not keen on messing with. She let a twisted smile grace her features as her eyes locked on Zuko, who I noticed had come to stand beside me without my realizing it. His fists were clenched so tight it looked painful. The girl spoke.

"It's been a while, Zuzu."

**ZUKO HAS SOME SERIOUS FAMILY ISSUES**

_"There must be great contrast between light and darkness or the light will not be seen or sought.  
Verily the time is at hand when that contrast between the light and the dark, the shadows and the real, the ego and the soul will be seen of all humanity and the choice will be clear.  
Let us hope that all people of goodwill choose the highest light they see before their eyes."_

I muffled a snicker with my hand.

_"Zuzu?"_

_That_ was a new one.

My eyebrows went up in question. I wasn't sure who this girl was, but I liked her already. Zuko pointedly ignored me, though it took some visible effort on his part. Instead of starting an argument with me, he continued to glower at the somewhat frightening girl who now stood in our way. Clearly, Zuko saw her as a threat, or else he would not have been looking at her the way that he was, but why would he treat this girl as any kind of danger? I wondered idly where they had met before . . .

"What do you want, Azula?" Zuko demanded coldly.

My jaw dropped. Literally.

No. No way. There was absolutely _no _way that the tiny girl blocking our path was the infamous princess of the fire nation. She was too, too . . . insignificant-looking. In my mind, I had pictured Azula as some corrupt, wicked witch who wore battle armor at all times and sat on a fiery throne, shrieking with laughter as she tortured indentured servants. This girl, if not for the vicious smile that gave her away for what she really was, looked more or less _normal_. Her hair wasn't made of flames; no red horns showed through her dark locks.

Zuko, however, didn't seem to agree with my assessment on his little sister's physical appearance. He was glaring at the fire princess like she was the plague. So much revulsion reflected in his ember eyes that I couldn't help but wonder what his little sister could have possibly done to deserve it. Anything that could make someone look like that was more that something to be concerned about. I just couldn't get past her looks . . .

"So this is all it takes to put you out, Zuzu?" Princess Azula inquired innocently with a mocking undertone, blatantly sizing me up. "I must say, you're not what you used to be. And you weren't much to begin with."

My eyes narrowed. It was true that I had singlehandedly kidnapped him, but there was just something I didn't like about someone _else_ making fun of Zuko. That was my job, after all. I started to charge up the area around us, ready to disappear us both at a moment's notice. I knew that no one would be able to tell, though, as I made sure to keep my expression guarded and suspicious.

"That doesn't concern you, Azula," Zuko said, his voice tight but laced with hostility. "Now, if you don't mind, we're leaving." He enunciated every syllable with painstaking slowness and I could tell that he was struggling to keep his composure from slipping as they spoke. What had _happened _between them? Lord, had she tried to murder him, or something? Zuko elbowed me lightly, in a way that said to just follow him and ask questions later. He started to walk around his sister and I copied.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," she said and, so quickly that it shocked me, sent a wall of flames to block our path. Zuko growled and I blinked. Why were her flames blue? I wasn't so sure, but somehow I doubted it meant that they were friendlier than Zuko's lovely normal-colored ones.

"Why not?" I demanded, crossing my arms. Who was she to tell us that we couldn't- . . . Oh, right. Well, fire princess or not, I wasn't afraid of her, and I was absolutely _not _going to let her tell me what to do. I suppose I have authority issues. Azula turned and gave me a distasteful glare.

"Because, for some strange reason, I know a group of people who are willing to pay quite a sum for me to deliver you alive," she told me acidly, making it clear that she did not think that I was worth whatever they were offering to pay for me. "And also because I am _so _looking forward to father's face when he finds out what happened to my dear brother." I glared at the princess. She was even more arrogant than Sparky, and the scary part was that she knew exactly how to intimidate people with it.

I saw it in her eyes before it happened.

I saw the way that she planned to send a lethal jolt of electricity right through her own brother's heart. I saw the delight and bloodlust that would be on her face as she killed him, clear as daylight. I saw how she would lie to her father and tell him that he had been killed in some horrible accident; saw the fake tears she would shed when she did it. I saw everything, only mere fractions of a second before it actually happened. Her intentions were written stark all over her face.

I didn't know if Zuko saw it, too. I didn't stick around to find out.

Instantly, running off of pure adrenaline and instinct alone, I kicked Zuko out of the way, attempting to ignore the sickening _crack_ that sounded as I did so. The azure lightning streaking past the air that had been occupied only moments before come just inches from both of us. Immediately, I veiled him in the shadows so fast that I hoped Azula hadn't had time to see where he had fallen. I spun around, aiming a kick at Azula's temple. I let out a sharp breath as she dodged it, but did not allow myself to feel panic. She was much better than Zuko when it came to hand to hand combat, like night and day, but she was missing one crucial point:

She didn't think forward.

While Princess Azula was adept in analyzing herself and her opponent, she was sorely unaware of any of her surroundings. I blocked her raining punches, slowly backing up to a low-hanging limb. If she suspected anything, she did not show it. Once my back was pressed firmly into the trunk of the tree that the branch was attached to, I reached up and took ahold of it, lifting myself up and kicking her squarely in the chest.

Azula shot back ten feet, hitting something solid in the process. Her arms fixed themselves to her waistline and she held her breath as if something were at her throat.

_Wait a minute . . . _

"Sparky?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

Something hit the back of Azula's head, effectively knocking her out cold. I broke the shadow shield around the prince, revealing him to be fastening her arms to her body and gripping his dagger tightly, hilt down. He carelessly let his sister drop like a rock to the forest floor, not even turning to watch. He walked away from Azula's unconscious body and started back toward the camp as if nothing had happened. I huffed disbelievingly and hurried after him.

"You have a horribly dysfunctional family, do you know that?" I said sharply, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms for effect. "Does your little sister always try to kill you?" Judging from the look on Zuko's face and the way he'd been reacting to everything that had just happened, I assumed the answer was 'yes.'

"My sister is a lunatic. She doesn't care who she kills," the prince answered bitterly, not turning to look at me.

"But . . she was going to _murder _ you," I repeated, shaking my head in disbelief. "I could see it in her eyes. She was actually going to do it." How could that not disturb him? Had Azula been like that for so long that he had gotten used to it? Was it even possible to get used to something like that? I suddenly realized that Zuko's family relationships were incredibly heartbreaking. His mother was dead, his father didn't want him and his sister tried to kill him.

I was hit by a rather unwelcome pang of guilt and pity for the young prince. Before, I had been fully convinced that his life had been cookie-cutter perfect; the sort of life that made common, everyday people sigh with longing. But I wondered, now, if maybe there was a darker, more morbid side to the story. A side that most people did not ever get to see or hear about.

I saw Zuko wince slightly out of the corner of my peripheral vision, suddenly reminded of the stomach-turning _snap _that I had heard when I kicked him out of the way.

"Which bone?" I asked evenly, stepping in front of the prince to keep him from walking any further. He frowned _down _at me, his ember eyes clearly telling me that it was 'nothing,' as he liked to refer to it as.

"What?" Zuko asked, not even bothering to pretend he didn't know what I was talking about.

"Which bone did I break?" I repeated, more impatience seeping into my tone. The prince sighed.

"It's just a finger," he assured me, stepping around my self blockage without even a second glance. "I'll wrap it later."

I fell back into step beside him, worry no doubt painting my face. I did not argue with him, though. Somehow, I knew very well that neither of us were in the mood to get into a verbal beat down after what had just happened, and frankly, I was just glad we were agreeing on _something _for once. Even if that something was just the fact that we did not want to fight for the moment.

The rest of the way to camp, we walked in silence. It was not a companionable silence, but it was not an angry or awkward silence either. It was just silence that neither of us felt the need to fill up or disturb. After what did not feel like so long, we stepped back into the clearing where we were staying. Iroh turned from whatever he was working on to greet us.

"Nice to see that you two didn't kill each o-"

He froze, taking in our appearances. I did the same, only just realizing that we looked . . . well, horrible. Our clothes were scorched, we smelled like an old campfire and we were both cut up and bleeding. Iroh gave us an disbelievingly frustrated scowl, narrowing his eyes.

"Honestly! I send you two into town to find some food, and you try to murder each other!"

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Read&Review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Bienvenue! Sorry about my lack of an update but I had a dance competition in Corpus this weekend. Also, I have officially decided that I am going to probably have to make this into two separate stories. (I already have this written out like eight chapters ahead because I'm a perfectionist) You'd read it right? Oh, of course you would! *hint, hint* Anyhoo, enjoy!  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue. XD  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

He froze, taking in our appearances. I did the same, only just realizing that our clothes were scorched and we were both cut up and bleeding. Iroh gave us an disbelievingly frustrated scowl, narrowing his eyes.

"Honestly! I send you two into town to find some food, and you try to murder each other!"

**IROH COMES DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO MURDER**

_"Darkness is the illusion that there are places where nothing exists."_

Uncle nodded gravely.

Kaida and I had just finished explaining to him exactly how we had _not _tried to kill each other on our way to the village, and exactly how Azula _had._ It was the worst possible thing that could have happened. Even Kaida seemed a bit shaken up about it, and I was sure it took quite a lot to do that to her. I frowned, thinking about her close-to hysterical reaction to my sister. She had seemed so genuinely shocked at the fact that Azula had truly been aiming to kill me. I was under the impression that she were already aware of our . . . feelings toward each other, but apparently that was not the case.

"So, Azula is after you two," Uncle started, then paused, seeming to realize something. "What happened? Did she run off?" He looked around as if he half-expected my deranged little sister to pop up out of the trees and attack us again. There was a part of me as well that was slightly surprised that hadn't happened yet.

"No," Kaida started, giving me a pointed look that I did not quite understand. "Zuko knocked her out with the hilt of his dagger and left her unconscious back in the woods."

"Ah, good, good," Uncle responded in understanding. Kaida's lower lip stuck out in an irritated pout. Obviously, that approval in his tone was not exactly the kind of response she had been going for. I wondered briefly when she would realize that no one in my family particularly cared about each other, save maybe Uncle. And even _he_ didn't care what happened to Azula.

"Alright," he said, laying his map out on the stone slab that had recently become our multipurpose table-boulder. "The plan that I am working on is not quite finished yet, but if your sister is looking for you, then we will have to start moving around. We cannot risk another encounter with her." I nodded in understanding, but Kaida was confused.

"Moving around?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Where exactly?"

"Anywhere we can," Uncle elaborated. "Although it would probably be best to start moving in the general direction of the fire nation. It's not exactly close by at the moment." He was right. We had a while to go before we got even relatively close to the place I once called 'home.'

"When do you think we should leave?" Kaida asked intently. She looked up and glowered at the quickly dimming sky as if it had committed some horrible offense against her. Instead of answering her question directly, Uncle turned to me.

"How hard would you say you hit Azula?"

"Not hard enough," I replied, earning another incredulous look from Kaida. "She won't be out for more than a few hours." No. I had definitely _not_ hit Azula hard enough.

"We'll have to leave now, then," Uncle instructed, standing and starting to gather his things. "We will need a head start on her."

"Alright . . ." Kaida muttered glumly, getting up as well. Neither of us had any belongings to take with us anyway, so we just watched quietly as Uncle quickly got his things together. I turned to watch as Kaida shadowbent us a light to go off of, even though it wasn't dark yet.

"It's not even night time," I stated, my eyes trailing her movements. She met my eyes, but did not respond, instead continuing to manifest her shadowbending. I could tell that she was intentionally ignoring me, but I let it go for the moment.

We had more important things to worry about.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"Ow! Sparky, that's my foot!"

The air next to me started to heat up. We were walking blindly through the forest; blindly because Zuko and Iroh both insisted that I 'not draw attention to our presence' by shadowbending.

Zuko saying something like that was understandable, but Iroh should have known better, especially after what happened last time I _didn't_ use my bending. I was already skittish after having to deal with sparky's psycho, fruitcake of a sister, and being blind was not helping my anxiety.

"I thought you preferred not being able to see," came Zuko's hissed retort. I pushed him lightly; not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to get my point across.

"Oh, please," I said, venom lacing my tone, "At this rate Azula will find us because of all the noise we're making running into each other."

"Maybe if you could read a map-"

"Maybe if we could _see_ the map-"

_Click_.

Silence. Everyone stopped moving entirely. Our breathing was the only sound in the world as far as I could tell. There was an odd, cold sensation on one side of my wrist and and blazing heat on the other. My hand flew to my neck. The key was gone . . .

"Uncle, you didn't . . ."

"There," the elderly man stated with finality clear in his voice. He definitely did not sound happy with us. "Now you won't accidentally run into each other any more."

"General Iroh," I started, my voice chilling, "Did you just chain us together _using my own lock?" _Someone was going to die tonight.

"Yes," he confirmed, still sounding aggravated, "And you're not getting your key back until I'm convinced you two can get along." And with that, he marched off and left us gaping after him. Or, at least, I _heard_ him march off and _I_ was gaping after him.

"Well, this seems very counter-productive," I commented. Zuko grunted in agreement as we finally got over the initial shock and followed after Iroh.

I shifted my wrist slightly. Zuko's skin was so . . . _warm. _His arm scorched against my much cooler one as if he had a terrible fever. I had heard of benders being like their elements - waterbenders who were good swimmers, earthbenders who were stubborn and strong - but it still surprised me. I wondered in what way I was similar to my own element. Maybe I didn't want to know.

"How do you suppose he knew where our wrists were?" I asked out loud, my voice surprisingly even given the yelling that had been going on prior. Iroh sounded like he was a ways ahead of us, so I was fairly certain that he could not hear our conversation. I doubted that he wanted to listen to our voices anymore, anyway.

"I've learned not to question how he knows these things anymore."

I was surprised, for a moment, that Zuko had bothered to answer my spoken afterthought. We had practically been at each other's throats a few moments ago, metaphorically speaking. I briefly wondered if maybe Iroh had the right idea. He always seemed so sure of what he was doing; always placing his complete trust and store in 'fate' and 'destiny' as if he were personally acquainted with them. I didn't always get it - in fact, I almost never got it - but he was the kind of person who was always right in the end.

"Does he ever make you feel like just a kid?" I asked, more quietly this time. Zuko was silent for a moment. My wrist tugged at the metal chain that bound us together.

"All the time," he admitted finally. I nodded once, then remembered that Zuko could not see me. We were silent after that. No doubt he was just as absorbed in his own thoughts as I was.

I thought mostly about Leila. She would be almost twelve by now. It was sad for me to remember her because I didn't know if she would be able to do the same for me. After all, I hadn't seen her since before she was nine. I wondered if grandma ever told her stories about me. _If_ they were even being kept together, that was. I thought back, trying to recall every little detail about my cousin that I could. She was taller than me, I remembered, just by a little. It wasn't so much that she was tall as it was the fact that I was just abnormally short. Her hair was black like mine, but curly and messy and longer. Her eyes were electric blue, just like mom.

She was a waterbender.

Just like mom.

As for her personality, well, Leila was just as outspoken as I was. But she was not angry or bitter, nor was she sarcastic. She was everything that the village had not quite gotten out of me: kind, playful, followed the rules. One would think that it would have pried at our relationship, the fact that everyone saw Leila as the well behaved one, but I loved her like a sister.

. . . a sister.

"Did Azula ever love you?" I blurted out, then mentally slapped myself. _And just what do you think you are doing, huh? _I thought at my mouth. Zuko's steady pace fractured, but picked up again after a second. Once again, I did not expect him to answer my question, but, once again, he surprised me.

"Maybe," he replied, seeming a bit unsure of his answer, "When she was a lot younger. I never really wanted a sister that much." Never? I had always wanted a sister when I was a kid. A twin actually. Or maybe a brother, even. I just didn't like being an only child, really.

"Why not?"

He hesitated for a short second.

"Girls are crazy."

There was a definite grin in the tone of Zuko's voice and I got the feeling that I was missing out on some private joke.

"Surely we're not _all_ crazy," I defended, my voice light. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up into a crooked smile.

"No, you are" he denied matter-of-factly, "Trust me."

Up ahead, I heard Iroh stop deliberately. Once we finally caught up to him, we realized exactly why that was. My eyes took in the heart-stopping scene, making my breath catch in my throat as he announced:

"We're here."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Haha, yeah. I chained them together. That's an explosion waiting to happen. XD I know, it's really short, but don't worry! The next chappy will sooo make up for this one . . . er, lack of this one. ^_^**

**Read&Review!  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hola! Super epic chappy! I'm so proud of it. 8D Cyber cookies for everyone who reviewed. I heart you all!  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA . . . or do I . . . ?  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

Up ahead, I heard Iroh stop deliberately. Once we finally caught up to him, we realized exactly why that was. My eyes took in the scene, making my breath catch in my throat as he announced:

"We're here."

**ZUKO'S NEW-FOUND DISLIKE FOR FANGED GYPSIES**

_"A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what they're talking about."  
-Miguel De Unamuno_

It was, without the slightest doubt, the most beautiful scene I had ever laid eyes on.

The small town across the river we now stood in front of looked just like a picture out of a dream. Children ran up and down the stone-paved streets, self-made lanterns and hissing sparklers clutched in their tiny fists. Music sounded from every nook and cranny, the lively melodies and tambourines carrying all the way to even our distant ears. The should-have-been night sky was illuminated by the glow of the millions of paper lanterns strewn over every stand and building and person in sight. It was like high noon in the very center of a seemingly endless amount of darkness.

It was dazzling.

"What . . . is this?" I heard myself ask, my tone embarrassingly raw and defenseless.

"Ah," Iroh exclaimed, sounding pleasantly surprised, "I completely forgot that tonight was the night of the annual Yuanxiao."

"The Lantern Festival?" I asked, my eyebrows pushing together. "But that can't be right. It's only celebrated in the-"

I halted, my eyes locking on a figure in the crowd. He spun a fierce kick into the air, lighting a particularly beautiful paper lantern with ease, not a single spark obscuring the intricate designs that decorated it.

"Fire nation," I growled darkly.

"But Uncle," Zuko started, apparently not understanding either, "What is a village of fire nation citizens doing out in the middle of the earth kingdom?"

We both looked up at the old general expectantly.

"This is the colony of Hisoka," he informed us, the light from the fire and sparklers playing across his features in a dramatic kind of way. At the mention of the name of the town, Zuko's eyes shifted from confusion to understanding, and possibly a small hint of resentment.

"Oh," he said in recognition, his gaze turning from Iroh to look at me. I looked back for a moment, as something seemed to pass between us. But the moment was quickly ended when I faced Iroh.

"Why doesn't sparky like these people?" I asked him, my question straightforward. I did not understand how I was so sure that Zuko harbored some sort of ill dislike for this out-of-place village, but I knew he did. Iroh chuckled lightly.

"When the war first started, there was a group of wishful thinkers, outcasts if you will, who refused to stand behind or represent anything that Firelord Ozai did to the world," he explained, eying the village in something vaguely close to admiration. "Soon, they were so angry with his actions that they formed a small assembly of others who shared their same beliefs and left the fire nation to live somewhere far away from all the destruction and madness."

I stared back at the bright festival once again. It certainly did not _look_ anything like a fire nation event. But, then again, it didn't look like any nation's festival. It looked like an intriguingly unique occurrence in which that particular place had outright defied the known laws of the world and had refused to be a part of _any_ nation, instead creating their own.

"They're traitors to their country."

I looked at Zuko, and I did not believe him.

It seemed that maybe he could have meant that statement, a long time ago perhaps, but he was not being entirely truthful then.

"Come on," I said after a short pause, "We need to find a place to stay."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

The Lantern Festival was even more breathtaking up close, if that was even possible. People bustled around, talking with friends and family, tasting free samples of sweet tangyuan, and chasing one another around with festive crackers. I noticed, much to my embarrassment, that Zuko and I were still chained together at the wrist. It looked oddly like we were . . . Well, I had completely forgotten about it until people started giving us weird looks. I elbowed Iroh in irritation.

"Do you mind?" I demanded the elderly man. "This doesn't look right." He smiled in apology, pulling my silver key-necklace out of his pocket. I stopped and walked over to the side of the street, yanking Zuko to a halt as well.

"Hold on a second while I untie us."

I had never thought about how hard it would be to unlock something with only one hand until that particular task was placed upon me. I had to lean Zuko's arm awkwardly across mine to get the keyhole on top and the padlock kept digging into my skin and falling over when I tried to put less pressure on it.

"Here," Zuko offered, using his free hand to steady the padlock. _You couldn't have thought of that sooner?_ I thought, finally releasing the annoying restraint. I caught the chain as it slipped off, storing it safely in my pocket. I would need to pay much more attention to it's location from now on.

Once we caught back up with Iroh, he was standing just outside an inn that was obviously playing it's part in the festivities. Streamers made entirely of red and gold paper cranes hung from either side of the entryway and inside there was a vendor selling lanterns and candles to excited children. Iroh frowned at us as we approached.

"This is the only inn in the village," he told us, "But it's too expensive. We'll have to see if we can find somebody who will let us stay with them for the night." I groaned. Wasn't it bad enough that I was already forced to stay with two firebenders? I wasn't so sure my sanity could take any more, even if the ones in this village weren't as evil as had originally thought.

"It's settled then," Iroh said cheerfully, decidedly taking my groan as a 'Yeah, let's go for it!' "I will search the east side of the village while you two take the west."

"B-but-" Zuko and I both sputtered, but Iroh was already halfway down the shop-ridden street.

"He amazes me with his obliviousness," I said bluntly, shaking my head and turning to walk down the opposite direction.

"You're not going to do what he want's us to do, are you?" Zuko asked, coming up to walk next to me. Judging by the weary expression on his face, he already knew the obvious answer.

"Absolutely not," I replied flippantly. "There's no way I'm going to be hanging around any more firebenders than necessary." The prince gave me an irritated look, which quickly turned doubtful.

"You don't have a choice," he replied matter-of-factly. "We're out of money." I stopped in front of a tall and slightly ominous-looking, black tent. On the top, in vivid purple, read the words:

**LANTERN RIDDLES**

I smiled up at Zuko, who looked for all the world like he wanted to smack me right between the eyes.

"No, Kaida," he said firmly. "I don't know what's going through your mind right now, but we're not going in there."

I let my grin widen even more, then grabbed Zuko's arm, effectively dragging him up to the entrance. I didn't know why, but I had a good feeling about this place. Two men stood at the entrance, though they didn't look much like guards. Both were lanky and thin, with tan skin and long black hair pulled into ponytails. They wore black bandanna's around their heads and gypsy style clothing. As I tried to shove Zuko through the small entryway, they stepped in front of it, blocking us.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" I demanded, yanking my arm down, only to realize that it was attached to the front Zuko's shirt.

"Only firebenders are allowed inside," the guard on the right informed us.

"Too bad," Zuko said sarcastically, crossing his arms and looking relieved.

"Hmph," I replied, sticking my nose up at the guard who had spoken. "Fine."

I held my palm out, face up, giving the man an alluring smile.

Slowly, so slowly that it was almost not believable, a clear, white flame swept up in the center of my palm. I concentrated hard on making the shadowbending apparition move like an actual flame, flicker like an actual flame. At first, I couldn't tell if they were buying it, but after a moment the man on the left nodded. He stepped aside and gestured for us to go in.

"How did you do that?" Zuko hissed as we ducked into the slightly creepy tent.

"Trick of the light?" I offered, grinning. I still wasn't sure why I wanted to look in there at all - if anything, I should have shied away from the place - but I just had this feeling. And I always run off of my instincts.

The inside of the Lantern Riddles tent was about the size of the last inn room we'd stayed at. The lights seemed slightly dim, but that was probably just because everything else in the festival was all lit up. Everywhere, there were shelves and cluttered tables full of exotic nic-nacs and cultural ornaments. No two things there were alike.

"Well, hello there. I'm Sayo. What can I do for a pretty girl like you?"

I turned toward the heavily accented voice. Leaning over behind one of the many counters was a boy who looked to be a little older than Zuko. His inky hair was shaggy and fell in his face. His skin was tan, like the guards outside and his eyes were a strange shade of purple. His clothes were baggy and slightly open, and I was pretty sure he had eyeliner on. I smiled, batting my eyelashes theatrically.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about the riddle lanterns," I replied, trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about.

"Ahhh," he said. Well, he seemed to know what I was talking about. That made one of us at least. I caught him pull a key out from the red bandanna around his forehead as he walked over to an old, beat up cabinet. I watched with interest as he pulled out a crimson tissue lantern, just like the ones that were hanging all over the town. He brought the ornament back over to the counter, setting it down. From the corner of my vision, I noticed that Zuko was watching him distrustfully. Always the paranoid one.

"T's a simple enough game," Sayo said, his voice as savvy as his looks. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought him to be a pirate.

Except that I _didn't_ know any better.

But that idea didn't occur to me then.

"All you do is answer the riddle in this yuanxiao lantern, and you win a prize. Simple as that," Sayo said easily, leaning across the counter and looking straight into my eyes. His smirk widened as he twirled the cabinet key through his fingers, revealing two abnormally sharp canines.

"And if I can't answer this riddle?" I quirked an eyebrow, not about to fall for Sayo's obvious puppy-dog looks. He seemed to be very adept at using them to his advantage.

"Then _you_," he said, pushing his pointer finger right where my heart would be beneath my skin, "Have to give _me_ something." He grinned, his voice heavy with implications. I returned it with a sly smirk, narrowing my eyes in challenge. Somehow, I was fairly certain that this 'prize' was a bit more than a stuffed animal.

"Alright," I said, accepting his challenge, "I'll take one." Sayo handed me the lantern on the counter by the thin handle on the top.

"There you are, _Mihana_," he said smoothly, his accent intensifying on the _'silent flower' _part. "Just call for me in the back when you think you have it." And with that, Sayo slipped into a separated portion of the tent-shop.

I looked down at the paper the circular opening in the top, a thin slip of paper was visible. I reached in curiously and pulled it out. Zuko stood behind my back, reading over my shoulder with me.

_"There are two men standing at a fork in the road. One road leads to _

_your village. The other leads to certain death._

_Consequently, one of the men always tells the truth, and the other _

_always lies. You do not know which is which._

_How can you get back to your village without guessing?"_

"Hmmm, that sounds oddly familiar . . ." I mumbled to myself, putting a hand on my chin. Zuko muttered something about crazy gypsy men with fangs. I bit at my crooked fingernails, staring off into space. Zuko groaned.

"Leave it to you to get us into a situation like this," he said accusingly. I tuned him out, diving deep into concentration. "Do you have any idea what's going to happen if we can't answer this?" I rolled my eyes.

"Then_ I _will have a very interesting rest of the night," I replied nonchalantly, staring down at the piece of paper as Zuko gagged like a fish out of water. "And _you_ will go find your uncle and come back for me in the morning." I grinned to myself. I could hear Zuko stuttering incoherently in the unimportant section of my consciousness.

"Oh, lighten up," I chided, chuckling to myself. Did he really think I was _that _perverted? "Honestly, I'm only joking. Do you think I would let that happen?" I was much more clever than he gave me credit for.

"Yes," Zuko said blatantly. "Yes I do. And, knowing you, you would find some way to enjoy it." He looked of to the side, his face telling me that he clearly thought that was a close to impossible thing to do. Hmm, strange. I thought Sayo was kind of charming.

"Oh, like it matters to you," I said distractedly, waving him off.

"It doesn't," he said, the pitch of his voice rising. Liar. "Anyway, what are we going to do about this?" Zuko gestured toward the slip of paper in my hand. I bit at my lower lip in concentration.

"Hmm, I don't know . . ."

"Great," Zuko muttered. I wanted to ask him if he had any brighter ideas, and, if not, to shut up. But I restrained myself. Barely.

"Hey, what would your uncle say, sparky?" I asked, turning to the banished prince. He grimaced, as if he didn't want to think about what Iroh would say at a moment like this.

"Er, something about the balance of the separate paths of life, two opposites make a positive, three rights make a left, jasmine tea?" he ventured, giving me a what-makes-you-think-I'd-know look.

Two opposites . . .

Two opposites . . . make a positive.

I gasped. That was it!

"Sparky!" I exclaimed, grasping his shoulders. "You're a genius!"

He looked at me like I'd lost it.

"Sayo!" I called. No sooner had the name left my lips and he was out from the back of the tent. His violet eyes glinted as he stepped toward me.

"Have you figured it out so quickly,_ Mihana_?" he asked with a sceptically impressed expression on his face. I nodded confidently.

"What would be your question, then?" Zuko and Sayo both watched me, doubtful expressions painted on their features.

I took a deep breath.

"If I were to ask him 'Which way to the village,' what would he say?' If it is the man who would lie then he would point in the direction opposite of the man who would tell the truth, in other words, the wrong direction, and if it is the man who would tell the truth then he would also point me in the wrong direction because he would be telling the truth as to what the man who would lie would tell me. Therefore, either way, the path to the village would be the opposite of the direction that either man points to."

Both of them gaped openly at me, disbelief written plain as daylight across their features.

"Very impressive, _Mihana," _Sayo said finally, a grudging smile falling back into place on his face. He produced a small, velvet pouch from the folds of his baggy outfit, handing it to me. I could see the respect growing behind his lilac gaze.

"Thirty gold pieces," Sayo informed me. I shot him a cocky smirk.

"Maybe we'll have a rematch sometime."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: A few little trivial things to mention here for you all.**

**First of all, the Lantern Festival in this chapter is actually based off of a real festival in China. I did my research and picked out the one that seemed the most interesting and would fit in nicely with my story, as well.**

**Secondly, the name that Sayo was using for Kaida, **_**Mihana**_**, means silent flower in Japanese, just in case you didn't catch that.**

**Anyhoo, Read&Review! This next chapter is going to be super awesome! (haha, bribery)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Kia orana, my lovelies! I about died when I was writing this chapter XD It's awesome, if I do say so myself. A special thank you to Kookooforzuzupuffs for reviewing and for helping me fix my retardedness in the grammar category. ^_^  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: I ont-day own-ay avater-ay eh-they ast-lay air-ay ender-bay. Seriously. XD  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"Very impressive, _Mihana_," Sayo said finally, a grudging smile falling back into place on his face. He produced a small, velvet pouch from the folds of his baggy outfit, handing it to me. I could see the respect growing behind his lilac gaze.

"Thirty gold pieces," Sayo informed me. I shot him a cocky smirk.

"Maybe we'll have a rematch sometime."

**RETARD IN SHINING ARMOUR**

_"A person often meets their destiny on the road they took to avoid it."_  
_-Jean De La Fontaine_**  
**

Uncle spun around to face us, his mouth full of samples of sweet tangyuan. According to the sheepish expression on his face, he had not expected Kaida and I to be back so soon. He waved at us flippantly and I wondered idly how drunk he was and how long it would take to drag him to an inn if, spirits forbid, he passed out. Kaida wordlessly grabbed the free samples from his hands, kindly throwing them to the ground, and replaced the food with the velvet pouch of coins we had won. His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as he looked inside, eyes darting between the two of us.

"How did you two . . ." Uncle's voice trailed off, leaving unspoken implications and accusations hanging in the air.

"_I didn't steal it_!" Kaida and I said at nearly the exact same time, our voices tired and exasperated. I turned to stare at her and she did the same, her forest eyes shocked. Why would Kaida need to assure anybody of that? It wasn't as if she ever thought anything worth stealing. Not that she was particularly fond of stealing, anyway. Uncle chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Well, it seems you two are getting along much better," he commented lightly. "Let's go find that inn again."

We forced Uncle into a bed the minute we got to our room. He put up a feeble protest at first, but after a minute of two he was out and snoring. I half-hoped he wouldn't remember anything in the morning. Kaida and I looked at each other, then at the only remaining bed in the room.

"You take it," I offered, gesturing to the bed. "I can sleep on the floor." By that point, I didn't really care _where_ I slept, just as long as no one bothered me.

"Hmph, you think just because I'm a girl I need you to offer me the bed?" She asked, sounding slightly insulted as she crossed her arms. I sighed. Did she have to make an argument out of everything?

"Actually, I only did it to avoid a fight," I told her truthfully. A lot of good _that_ did me. Kaida huffed, dropping, cross-legged, to the floor.

"Well, too bad," she said. "I'm sleeping on the floor." I shrugged. I honestly didn't care and I knew she just wanted to do the opposite of what I thought was the smart thing. I closed my eyes, leaning back on my arms and tried to clear my head.

But later on in the night, when she thought that I was sleeping, I could have sworn I heard Kaida climb up into the empty bed.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I slipped the midnight black bandanna over the bottom half of my face, careful not to disturb either of the sleeping figures in the room. I made sure the tie on the back was fastened securely. It could not come off until it was supposed to, or I would have even more of an issue on my hands. I tiptoed over to the bamboo screen on the side of the wall, careful not to step on Zuko in the process, who was sprawled out uselessly on the floor.

I unhitched the window as slowly as I could afford to, taking a deep breath as an icy breeze twisted it's way through my short threads of hair. I would have to be quick about it. Fifteen minutes at the most. I would be in a bad spot if either of my roommates realized I was gone.

Or why.

Planting both my hands firmly on the windowsill, I started to push myself up slowly. Something rustled at the back of the room, coming from the floor.

I froze, my breath catching in my throat and my eyes squeezing shut. I stayed there for a seemingly endless amount of time, every muscle locked into place and refusing to let me even turn around to make sure no one was watching. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, I silently kicked my legs over the ledge of the window.

My hands remained on the windowsill, my feet feeling around blindly for a catch to support my weight on. Painstakingly, I climbed down the stone wall of the outside of the inn, praying that there were no late-going partiers from the festival still walking around. It would not be helpful for someone to see a strange girl who looked suspiciously like a robber climbing out of the window of someone's inn room. When I thought I was close enough to the empty street, I let myself drop the rest of the way.

_ Good. No one around_.

I slinked along the deserted streets, melting into the shadows and trying to retrace our steps from earlier. The ground was littered with pieces of paper lanterns, gold-trimmed streamers and red confetti from the Lantern Festival. Up ahead, a few lost fireworks exploded in the full-moon sky.

I veiled myself completely in the darkness as I curved in and out of back alleyways. My steps grew more forceful as I began to notice familiar stands and stalls from the festivities. My already-heated blood started to boil and caught fire as I found the dark lilac tent I had been searching for. I slipped into the small, exotically-decorated room, the anticipation growing.

Nobody was to be found in the main area, but I hadn't expected anybody to be. Still shrouded, I walked through the cabinets and desks, examining the foreign objects and rummaging through drawers. After thoroughly searching through every possible place, I let out a low hiss.

_Nothing._

Couldn't anything be so simple?

Grudgingly, I approached the entrance to the back room and walked through cautiously. It was a dimly lit bedroom, the decor similar to the main area of the shop. A dark figure stood in front of a desk, bent over a columned sheet of paper. A sales record? Well, it didn't matter anyway.

I let the veil shatter, my fists flashing uncontrollably. I was so angry, I didn't even smirk at the thought of what I was about to do. I approached the mysterious figure with no hesitation or falter in my resolve. He did not even turn when I reached him.

Violently, I took Sayo's shoulders, spun him around roughly and slammed him up against the wall. He stared at me, his violet eyes wide. My nails dug into the fabric of his too-loose shirt as I glared at the con artist. My palms continued to flash.

"Who are you?" he asked, sounding shaky. I scoffed. Did he really scam so many innocent people that there were several possible victims that would dare come after him?

"Oh, Sayo," I replied, pretending to sound hurt, "Don't you recognize your _Mihana?" _I pulled the bandanna from my mouth, revealing my identity to the gypsy. Sayo's tan face paled as he recognized me from earlier and no doubt realized exactly why I was there.

"Give it back, Sayo," I demanded, my voice dangerously calm. My eyes burned, livid as I imprisoned him in his own room.

"I don't know what you mean, darling," Sayo replied sharply, his tone returning to normal as a sly grin reappeared on his face. I clenched my teeth harder, letting my nails slide into his skin a little.

"You know exactly what I mean, you dirty liar," I growled, acid seeping from my voice. It was a bit frightening, even to myself. "Give me the dagger you stole from me earlier." Sayo grinned even more, letting his fang-like canines show.

"What?" he said innocently, his accent thickening. "You mean this dagger?" There was a gleam in his fuchsia eyes. An _actual_ gleam; like something reflecting off of their glassy surfaces. My eyes widened in response. I spun around, but just in time to catch Sayo's wrist before the blade sank into my back. The steel tip was so close to my face I could hardly see it anymore unless I crossed my eyes.

"You know,_ Mihana_," Sayo said in a casual tone, "Your not half bad."

"Well, gee, thanks." I planted my elbow in his side with as much force as I could manage. "I live to impress you." Sayo doubled over as I attempted to pry his fingers off Zuko's dagger, but he held tight.

Suddenly, my legs were kicked out from under me and we were falling to the floor. I attempted to swing my weight around and end up on top of Sayo, but he apparently had the same idea and I hit the ground next to him. In an instant, we were both on our knees, pushing at each others shoulders and trying to get the other immobile.

"You should come work with me, Missy," Sayo commented, his voice strained but still mischievous. "You would make a lovely assistant." I shoved his face into the floor and let out a slightly hysterical laugh.

"Ha! Only in your dreams, thief," I sneered. Sayo sighed, as if he were actually disappointed that I'd answered 'no' to his ridiculous question.

"I'm very sorry to hear that, _Mihana_," he said in a voice that gave me chills for some reason I couldn't quite place. Then, it happened.

It took only a second. A flash of metal. A piercing scream that I couldn't put an owner to.

Zuko's dagger . . .

I fell backward against the wall of the riddle shop. I couldn't see anything on the front of my shirt, but it was still dark out, and my shirt was black. And I didn't _need_ to see the crimson anyway; I could _feel_ it. Hot, wet, and then the pain finally settled itself into my consciousness.

It felt like I was, well, burning. Except, this time, it was from the inside rather than just the surface. It felt like white-hot acid had been shot through my veins. I wondered if Zuko's dagger was poisoned, or something. I would definitely have to yell at him about that if I lived, I thought to myself. I started to slide down the side of the wall, despite my best efforts to support my own weight. Purple splotches started to dance distractingly across my vision. My head felt like it was full of helium. Something warm caught me before I could slide all the way to the ground. I was immensely grateful for it until I realized that it was Sayo who was holding me up.

"It's too bad," he said, with mock regret that was somehow very convincing. "You were a pretty one." He grinned at me in the dim light from the candles that we hadn't already knocked over and put out by accident.

I used the last ounce of energy that I had left in me to spit in his face. Sayo growled, suddenly loosing all the previously easygoing demeanor. He wiped his face off with the back of his hand, muttering something of a curse in what was probably his native language. My knees started to tremble violently under my own weight, even with someone else supporting most of it for me.

Sayo turned to glare at me with uncharacteristic malice in his violet eyes. He drew his arm back, dagger still in hand, to deliver the final strike. I raised my chin a fraction, ready to meet whatever he had to throw. Whatever he did to me, I would have my head held high right up until I passed out.

Or died.

Whichever came first.

I took a deep, but jagged breath as Sayo's hand reached the turning point in it's sadistic arc. The blade started to fall. I waited, forcing myself not to close my eyes. That would be weak, I told myself stubbornly.

Three feet away.

Two feet.

One.

. . . Ten?

If I had had the strength left in my body to perform such a task, I would have gaped in shock, or maybe sighed in relief as a glowing-hot metal rod knocked Sayo in the back of the head and threw the murderous dagger clattering across the floor.

Sayo's hand relinquished it's death grip on my shoulder and I immediately dropped to the ground with a painful _thump_. My vision was halfway gone by that point, but I could hear the slightly disturbing sound of someone being thrown carelessly into the trunk at the foot of the bed. I forced myself to look up; to see the identity of my beloved savior.

My heart stopped.

Zuko was glaring down at me, his breathing heavy and his forearms covered in what I could only suppose was mine and Sayo's blood.

"Kaida, have you lost your mind?" he demanded, towering above me with a look that was half rage and half relief. _Yes_, I thought to myself, wondering what way in particular the young prince meant that. I opened my mouth to speak, to retort really, but all I could get out was the first word.

"Zuko . . ."

I could feel all grip on my consciousness slipping, now. The objects in my vision started to smudge and smear and blur together. Suddenly, there were two Zukos who looked transparent, like they were trying to shadowbend in broad daylight.

_What a stupid thing to do_, I thought idly as my world tipped over sideways and then disappeared.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: I really hope you guys liked this! The story is getting a bit darker, but it won't be all ridiculous and bloody like this most of the time. I was just feeling particularly dramatic when I wrote this, hehe. 8) **

**Read&Review!  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Yo, pplz! (What? Slang is a language.) Once again, I have caused an entire huge, epic side-story problem to occur because I get so incredibly off the story line. This chapter got so freaking long that I almost had to split it in two!**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Psst. Hey, guess what? I don't own ATLA. I know, shocker, right?  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I LISTEN TO UNCLE**

_"A person often meets their destiny on the read they took to avoid it."  
-Jean De La Fontaine_

Kaida's breathing was soft as she slept back at the inn. She was going on her thirty-fourth hour of unconsciousness. Her face was buried in the too-big pillow, making her seem even more abnormally small than usual, and one arm stuck haphazardly off the side of the bed. Her inky hair was frayed over her nose and stuck in her eyelashes, and her fingers gripped the bed sheets. She looked peaceful.

I had felt surprisingly better after her blood-drenched clothes were replaced with a white night gown that I'm sure she would not have appreciated. There was something very wrong about Kaida being the one covered in blood. Uncle had done a good job of treating her wound, or I assumed that he had since, despite her occasional tossing and turning, the gash had not reopened yet.

After getting Kaida fixed up, Uncle had made me tell him the story. I'd hesitated, worried that he would be angry I had hurt that gypsy trash in the process, but he assured me that it was the best thing to do at the moment.

_Zuko._

I drew a deep breath. The almost indecipherable word on Kaida's lips replayed itself over and over again in my mind. I hadn't even given it a second thought as I carried her back to the inn. I supposed I was . . . distracted at the time. It wasn't until Uncle had treated her that I realized it was the first time she had called me by my name.

It shouldn't have mattered. It shouldn't have made a difference whether Kaida called me Prince Zuko or Princess Sparky, but it did. And I was going mind-numbingly insane trying to figure out _why._

I racked my brain for an answer, but nothing that I could make up or beat into some semblance of existence made enough sense for me to be satisfied with it.

My initial though had been that I was simply glad to be rid of those horrific nicknames Kaida insisted on using. But, of course, there was a flaw in that half-logic that I could not overlook. If that had truly been the case, then I would have felt relieved - which I did, a little - but it still did nothing to explain the sense of . . . _accomplishment. _Nor did it explain the other emotion that I had not yet put a name to.

My second thought was that I was merely satisfied with the fact that I had won our little unspoken battle of willpower in the end. That certainly explained the feelings of accomplishment that were coursing through me, not to mention the relief that accompanied it, but what about the fact that I kept hearing Kaida's voice in my head as she said my name before promptly passing out?

The third and final almost-answer that I had been able to come up with was that maybe I felt relieved that I was finally able to get some sort of respect out of the shadowbender. It was my third attempt, and also my weakest.

"I thought I would find you in here."

There was a loud series tapping sounds as Uncle's sandals came up to stop behind the chair I was planted in. I continued stare off into space as if he had not spoken and shattered my intense speculations. I realized, now, that my head was beginning to hurt from it.

"This is our room, Uncle. Where else would you find me?" I replied evenly, fixing my gaze on a particular chip in the bamboo walls of the inside of the inn. I was fairly sure it had not been there the night before . . .

"You don't have to stay inside all day, though," Uncle reasoned with me, chuckling lightly.

"I can't think with all that outside noise," I mumbled, fixing my mind on things other than our discussion that was clearly going nowhere.

"Ohh?" I could practically see his expression as he spoke the word. Eyes wide, eyebrows arched, a slight smile on his lips. "And what is so important that you must stay locked up in a room with no one but an unconscious girl to think about it?" I frowned. It sounded so idiotic when he put it that way.

Outside, children could be heard laughing and yelling as they ran down the streets. Bells from the market stands and self-made wind chimes filled the air.

"Something that will drive me crazy if I don't figure it out," I ventured, carefully avoiding Uncle's question. The fluctuation of my voice made it sound like a question itself. He sighed.

"You should walk around, Zuko," he said, no more pretense in his voice. "This is a nice town, even if you refuse to believe it. Doing something will help clear your head. I promise."

I looked up at my uncle finally, noticing that he looked concerned about me. Not that he didn't always look concerned about me. It was times like this when I knew that I just had to trust him, whether I thought that it would help or not.

"Alright," I said, standing up grudgingly. I grabbed my hat off the stand by the door and put it on to cover my face. Uncle smiled at me and waved as I walked out, looking as if he knew something I didn't.

A rush of air hit my face as I stepped outside, almost knocking my hat off. I held it in place as I observed the small village in daylight for the first time. Any outsider would have thought it just a regular village, had they not known the truth of it's origins. Every now and then, a bender would use their abilities for some insignificant little task, but even that could be passed up as nothing with a little logic and persuasion.

It was a village of cowards.

It still amazed and disgusted me that they had all had the nerve to run away - to desert their own nation - and live amongst this . . . trash: the earth kingdom. It was embarrassing that they called themselves firebenders.

Even if I didn't always agree with my father's decisions, I would never betray my country the way that they had . . .

"Hey, mister! Would you like a firecracker? They're free now, since the festival's over!"

I turned to glare down at a small girl with chocolate pigtails and missing front teeth. She carried a box of red fireworks in her hands and her eyes sparkled with the kind of look that only a select few would have been able to turn down. Couldn't she see that I was busy /not/ talking to anyone? Obviously not, as the child grinned brightly, craning her neck to look up at me. I glowered.

"No."

The little girl's jaw dropped and her eyes popped in disbelief. I turned mutely and started to walk away from her and any other pint-sized salesman that may have been lurking about. There was a relatively secluded-looking area on the west side . . .

"Hey!"

I stopped, tugging my hat down further as a muttered curse slipped out under my breath. So much for clearing my head. I turned slowly to look over my shoulder, keeping any and all emotion off of my face. The little girl was pouting now, her hands clenched into little fists at her hips. I waited silently for her to speak. She marched up to me, narrowing her eyes.

"What do you mean 'no'?" she inquired.

I frowned at the child, who was turning into more of an annoyance by the minute, as she raised an eyebrow almost comically in my direction.

"I mean no." Ah, the power of logic. The girl gaped openly at me.

"But no one ever says 'no'!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up above her head. Clearly, she did not understand the basic concept of the word. I waited dully, my eyes and expressions overshadowed by the hat I was wearing.

"Yes, well, I just did," I replied bluntly, turning on my heel in another useless attempt to get away. The child grabbed my arm, but not to stop me. Just to grab my arm. I cringed away, mortified by the thought of being seen with a five year old hanging all over me. She held tight to my wrist, much stronger than she appeared.

"_Why_, though?" she insisted, skipping alongside me. Why was it that kids always came to me? Out of all the nice, happy, _normal_ people that they had to choose from? It was a curse, I was sure of it.

"Because I don't want one," I snapped, finally freeing my arm. "Now, don't you think your parents will be worried about you?" I gave her a desperate and meaningful look. She smiled crookedly, reminding me of someone I knew.

"Nope," she informed me, her chipper voice making my head start to ache. I tried to walk away again, only to have the girl skip cheerfully after me.

"I'm Alea, by the way," she informed me unnecessarily. "What's _yoouur_ name?" I kept my eyes forward.

"Lee."

"Lee . . ." She tested out. "Where ya goin?"

"Nowhere."

"But you can't be going nowhere if you're moving," Alea reasoned, her voice growing in volume. I said nothing, racking my brain for an escape plan.

"You just don't know where you're going," Alea concluded. Did she enjoy talking to herself? There were plenty of other people there who would have been happy to respond to her comments. Suddenly Alea had my wrist again and was pulling me toward a small table outside of a covered stand. A delicious smell floated away from the back of it and I realized that I hadn't eaten for the past two days.

Alea ushered me into a seat and went around to the other side of the table. But instead of taking the chair across from me, she climbed up and sat cross-legged on the table. On the street, only a few people glided by, the numbers dwindling slowly.

"Hmmm," Alea said, squinting her eyes at me and putting a hand on her chin. She had the most ridiculous facial expressions, that girl.

"What are you doing?" I asked blatantly, though not as rudely as before. Alea continued to look at me as she answered.

"I'm trying to figure out why you said 'no'," she said suspiciously. I sighed.

"I've already told you why." Alea ignored me, trying to lift my hat up. I caught her hand before she could get to it, though. If anyone found out who I was, we'd have Azula on our tail again_. If_ she wasn't already.

"I know, but nobody has ever said no to me before," Alea explained for the fourth time. She leaned down, trying to look me in the eyes still. I turned away. "I want to know why you're different."

"I'm not different," I assured her. If anything was sure, it was that. I was no different than any other mediocre firebender. We weren't referring to the same things, but I didn't care.

"Sure you are!" Alea said flippantly, grinning at me. "Nobody around here acts like you." I frowned. She was right about that, at least. I said nothing. Alea reached for my hat again before I had time to stop her. I pulled it back down, but the damage was already done. Alea smiled in wonder, her mouth open.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "You know who you look like?" My breathing stopped altogether and my blood turned to ice. I spoke carefully, getting ready to make a run for it if anyone noticed her answer.

"No."

"Prince Zuko," Alea said. I looked around, but nobody appeared to have heard. She continued, unconcerned. "He's a hero." A . . . wait, what? That couldn't be right.

". . . a hero?" I repeated slowly. No, that definitely did not sound right. Confused little girl . . .

"Yeah," Alea informed me cheerfully, rocking back and forth on the tabletop. "He stood up to his own dad for his people, ya know. He's the bravest firebender ever."

I gaped at the child who was now humming Sakura, Sakura distractedly to herself. What was she, crazy? Maybe she had just confused my name with someone else. Roku, probably. There was no way that this entire village of traitors thought of me as a . . . hero. A traitor as well, maybe. A murderer, no doubt. But a hero? That was not possible. I was nothing even relatively close.

Suddenly, Alea screamed. It took no longer that a second for it to happen, but it felt like slow motion. Alea screamed, pointed behind me, I grabbed her and dove out of the way. Instantly, the table and chairs blew up in a plume of flames. Blue. Flames. I reeled around defensively, then cursed. There was Azula on top of one of the many buildings that made up the small town, leering down at the two of us maniacally.

"What is that?" Alea yelled, staring up at my sister. I kept her in my arms so she wouldn't try anything incredibly stupid.

"I don't know," I lied, keeping my gaze locked with Azula's. Oh, the things she would be seeing now. I had to have been the laughing stock of my entire country by now if they were told half the things that Azula knew.

"Yeah, well, I don't like her," Alea declared, sniffing. "She looks kinda wacko."

I glanced down at Alea. My mind was whirring, tipping back and forth over what to do. I could stay there and fight Azula myself, or I could run. As shameful as running away sounded, I wasn't sure if it wasn't my best bet at the moment.

There was a good chance that Alea could get hurt if I tried to fight my sister, and was I really even capable of taking her on by myself, anyway? One injured idiot was enough trouble for both me and my Uncle, and, as much as the little girl got on my nerves, I couldn't risk getting Alea hurt.

"Alea," I said quietly, "Whatever you do, don't let go."

I did not have time to wait for the little girl's answer. I gave my sister one last chilling glare, then I caused a cloud of flames burst up around us. As soon as the fiery cover was up, I ran into the closest back alleyway as fast as I could. I knew that I did not have long before Azula would catch up with us. I looked around frantically for somewhere to hide . . . er, hide Alea.

A door.

There was a wooden door on the inside wall of the alley. I pushed through it without a second thought, locking it as I slipped inside. I let out a relieved breath. That was way too close.

"Um, Lee?"

I turned around in annoyance. What did she want, now?

"Alea, can't you see that I'm-"

I jerked my flood of words to a halt. Alea was tugging on my shirt, pointing behind us where a group of very odd-looking people stood. Several of them were men . . . wearing makeup. One was hardly the size of Alea. Others were obscenely tall with ridiculous amounts of muscle in their arms, and the rest were women in geisha outfits and stage makeup. All of them were staring at us with mixed ranges of shock on their faces.

One of the geishas spoke up, giving me an odd look.

"Um, are you here for the performance?" she inquired slowly, turning her head to the side with a skeptical expression. Suddenly, a plan started to take shape in my mind. A crazy, stupid, ridiculous plan.

That just might work.

"Yes," I said, doing my best to put on a believable smile. Alea's mouth popped open as she turned to stare up at me.

"But, we-"

I cupped a hand over her motor-mouth, giving a short and very strained laugh.

"What my _little sister _is trying to tell you is that we're filling in for tonight's show," I lied, praying that I was more convincing than I felt at the moment. "Which way to the dressing room?"

"We're gonna be in a show?"

I stared dully at Alea, then slapped my palm to my forehead.

"No," I told her, turning to rummage through the closet full of stage costumes. "We're going to disguise ourselves so that Az- er, that girl from earlier won't recognize us."

"Okay," Alea said curtly. ". . . _then_ can we be in a show? Puhleease?" Her bottom lip stuck out pitifully and she clasped her hands together. I glowered.

"Er, yeah, sure. Whatever." Alea cheered happily in the backdrop as I turned and continued to search for disguises. It wasn't like she would ever see me again after this. I would just disappear, and Alea would forget me within a week.

In the end, I settled on a plain black shirt and pants, along with a blue, fanged mask that was slightly frightening to be honest. Alea was a bit more . . . frou frou.

The three-foot-tall girl had insisted upon doing her own makeup and hair. It wasn't exactly /enjoyable/ sitting in a dressing room, watching a kid put on makeup for twenty minutes, but I wasn't complaining either. The longer we got to stay in there, the less chance we had of running into Azula again. And even if she came crashing through the door that very second, there was no chance that she would recognize either of us. It was just tedious. I half-wished there was a window in the dressing room we had been led into so that I could check the time. Uncle would probably be wondering if maybe head-clearing had gone down the drain and I had decided to just leave while I still had a chance. Not a bad idea, now that I thought about it . . .

"Done!"

My head snapped up. Alea's face looked like a rainbow . . . great.

"Alright," I said as she jumped down from the stool in front of the mirror. "Let's go."

We stepped cautiously out into the vast labyrinth of backstage hallways. I turned right, doing my best to remember the pattern of turns the geisha performer had taken us through the first time. The halls were not very helpful. There was nothing on the wall beside the royal blue carpeting; no pictures or signs to help with my already-horrible sense of direction. No matter which way we turned, the lighting and random placement of doors seemed to stay the same.

After about ten minutes of aimlessly wandering through the deceptively large building, Alea looked up at me solemnly.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

I glowered behind my mask. I didn't, of course, but there was no need to state the obvious. I opened my mouth to tell her that I knew exactly what I was doing, but I was interrupted.

"Hey! Blue Spirit!" A short man stormed down the hallway, slightly red in the face. "What are you doing here? You're on stage in two minutes!" Before I had time to protest, or even register what was happening, Alea and I were shoved rudely through a door and into a room where one entire wall sported the back of a bright red curtain.

All of the actors and actresses and . . . whatever those men with makeup were called from earlier were running around, throwing wigs and costumes all over the backstage area. I pulled Alea after me, searching for a quick and easy exit. Surely there had to be one near the actual stage.

The geisha from earlier came up, pulling me to the carmine curtain.

"Can't you be on time for once," she scolded, her silver-painted eyes narrowing.

"Hey, wait-"

Then, all too suddenly, I was shoved through the colossal drape and onto the empty stage. Alea came through shortly after, bumping into me on the way out. I didn't move an inch. The crowd was silent, clearly waiting for me to do something. If I listened hard enough, I could've sworn I heard the sound of crickets in the backdrop. And that never spelt good news. Someone coughed.

Alea tugged at my outfit gingerly.

"Lee," she whispered urgently, her voice higher than usual, "Wacko lady is here." Wacko lady . . . wait. My eyes flickered through the crowd and locked on a small, dark figure in the back of the theater, where most of the chairs were empty. Azula, who did not appear to be taking any interest in us, at all, paced up and down the deserted isles, ducking down every now and then, as if she hoped I would be hiding under the theater seating.

"What are we gonna do?" Alea asked quietly, burying her face behind my leg. Thankfully, it took me all of fifteen seconds to come up with a decent getaway plan. I was getting better at this.

"Don't worry," I instructed. "I have another idea."

I executed every move with painful slowness in a vein attempt to be theatrical. It was ridiculous, but if I wanted to appear normal to Azula, I had to look like I was supposed to be there. I had seen performers back home do this. It was called fire art. It didn't seem so hard.

I let a jet of embers stream around my body, turning and spinning with them. I went around a few times. Once I was satisfied with the amount of control I had over the flames, I slowed it down and begun to shape them. First the spikes became visible, then the head. I concentrated next on bringing out the scales over it's snakelike body, making sure that Alea stayed out of the way using my peripheral vision. Finally, the apparition was complete. A line of fire shot from the dragon's mouth right before I extinguished it.

The crowd was hesitant for half a second, clearly noticing that my 'performance' had nothing to do with the rest of the show, but after a confused moment, they started to clap. That was when I noticed the exit door on the side of the stage. That was my que to leave. Immediately, I grabbed Alea and made a bolt for it. As I stepped out of the building prying the cat-like mask off, the cool air of the village hit my face once again. I sat Alea on the ground, breathing a sigh of relief. The little girl stared at me.

"Whooooa."

I smirked. 'Whoa' was right.

"You'd better remember that, Alea," I instructed her in between exhausted gasps, "Because it will never. happen. again."

Her mouth made a little 'o', mirroring her eyes, then she grinned, nodding vigorously. I stood up, looking around. The area we now found ourselves in was familiar since it was where Alea and I had gone through before the whole Azula-Theater incident. I wasted no time in getting Alea back to her firecracker stand, where her parents, as promised, simply smiled down at her and then went back to work.

"Thanks for taking me to be in a show, Lee," Alea said brightly, wrapping her arms around by leg. I looked away, embarrassed. "Your the bestest!"

"Yeah, sure," I said quietly, turning red as I gently pried her off of me. "Now, here." I took a firecracker out of the box that she had dropped before running after me, replacing it with a gold coin. Alea grinned, her missing front teeth making her look like the sweetest kid on the planet. I rolled my eyes, then turned around to go right back to the inn.

We needed to leave.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU COMPLAIN: There was one other time, in the second chapter, where Kaida called Zuko by his name, but I'm not counting that because she was being all sarcastic about it. This is what I'm actually considering the first time because she was serious when she said 'Zuko.' **

**Read&Review!  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Namaskara, everyone! Ugh, sorry for the late update. Sophomore year is killing me until I've died from it. Please bare with me until my loony world history teacher eases up! 8P **

**-B**

**Disclaimer: If I owned ATLA, then I would have no need to do this, now would I?**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"Thanks for taking me to be in a show, Lee," Alea said brightly, wrapping her arms around by leg. I looked away, embarrassed. "Your the bestest!"

"Yeah, sure," I said quietly, turning red as I gently pried her off of me. "Now, here." I took a firecracker out of the box that she had dropped before running after me, replacing it with a gold coin. Alea grinned, her missing front teeth making her look like the sweetest kid on the planet. I rolled my eyes, then turned around to go right back to the inn.

We needed to leave.

**I GET A MAKEOVER, EARTH KINGDOM STYLE**

_'A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."_  
_-Oscar Wilde_**  
**

She was sitting up when I walked in. Her eyes peered hazily out of the window by her bed, slipping closed slowly, then snapping open again. She was obviously fighting to stay conscious. In her hand was my dagger; the blade that had caused the entire problem in the first place. Kaida's fingers curled lightly around it's sheath, as if inexplicably reluctant to let go of the knife that got her stabbed. She hadn't noticed me in the doorway yet, so I walked back over to the chair I had been at before, purposely making enough noise to attract her attention. Suddenly alert, Kaida's head snapped in my direction. _Jumpy_ I noticed. I took my previous seat mutely.

Kaida gave me a very odd look then. An assortment of different emotions flashed in her jade eyes. First shock, obviously over noticing my presence there. Then guarded, which made sense as she usually was around me. And lastly a strange combination of irritation and confusion, for what, I hadn't the slightest idea. I didn't question it; only sat there. Through her open nightshirt, the bandages that Uncle had applied over her wound were visible.

She turned my dagger over in her hands, her thin fingers running over the grip where, if you looked hard enough, little crimson dots were visible in the cover material.

"Stupid gypsy," Kaida muttered softly, still gazing down at the weapon, her face clear of emotion. Her voice did not sound nearly as threatening as she had probably meant for it to. She frowned sadly for a moment. It was an expression that I'd never seen out of her: sadness. She looked as if she'd always worn it, though. It did not seem at all foreign on her features.

Silently, she laid the dagger across her lap and her hands on top of it, finally turning her attention toward me. Kaida then looked me right in the eyes, her face intently serious, and said the words I'd never expected her to say to me.

"Thank you."

She kept her eyes locked with mine, as if to prove her sincerity beyond the shadow of doubt. I paused for a moment then nodded as if to say 'You're welcome.' Kaida continued to watch me with that suspiciously confused look on her face. I put on the distant expression that I normally wore around her.

"Should you be sitting up?" I asked, then realized, cringing, that I'd sounded _concerned. _"You're going to bleed to death all over the bed if you don't quit moving." I huffed with as much dignity as I could manage before looking off to the side. Kaida said nothing, but continued to look at me like I was something to be analyzed. It reminded me of the way my grandfather used to look at me. I didn't understand the concentration on her face, and that was annoying me.

On the other side of the door, there was a loud crash as something heavy fell over. I rolled my eyes mentally. No doubt my Uncle, listening in on our conversation. I pretended not to care, the feeling of Kaida's gaze still boring into me. I closed my eyes.

The silence was so loud it was driving me insane, ringing in my ears like a physical thing. Kaida's silence was just like her darkness in the sense that it everything seem . . . gone. With my eyelids shut, there was nothing there to assure me that I wasn't all alone in an empty, white room far, far away in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it would have been better than where I was, though, I considered somewhere in the back of my head. Maybe it was better to pretend that I was somewhere no one could get to me.

"How did you know where I was?"

The voice was so soft and delicate that, at first, I did not realize that it was Kaida's. I quickly realized that was stupid - Who else could it be? - but I was so used to her yelling and shouting, that it was almost unrecognizable. My eyes opened slowly, searching for the source of the birdlike sound. I thought fleetingly back to the previous night and all that had happened in such a short amount of time.

"I thought I heard you getting in the empty bed," I replied carefully. Kaida shook her head softly, her thin eyebrows knitting together.

"No, you didn't answer my question,". she said, looking intensely confused. "How did you know I had gone back to Sayo's tent?" I grimaced. That was not something that I had planned on telling her, or even really thought about, to be honest.

"It was just the first place I thought to go," I assured her half-truthfully, looking away. I cringed mentally at what Uncle's mind would be selectively hearing in our conversation. Kaida smiled a little.

"You're lying," she stated bluntly, her voice calm and even, "But that's okay." I raised an eyebrow at that. Had they drugged her, maybe? She turned her attention back to the sunlit window over her shoulder. "I know the answer already."

I held my breath. She couldn't, or she would have been fuming by that point . . . right? I waited in skeptical silence for Kaida to elaborate on that statement. She gave a slightly strained laugh.

"Silly," she mock scolded, the corner of her bruised lip quirking up a little. "_You_ should know when I'm only pretending to be attracted to someone I think I can get something out of." Kaida smiled sweetly. I frowned, my mind reeling suddenly. Whatever she meant by that-

"Oh, Miss Hotaru, I see you're finally awake, eh?"

I groaned inwardly at the horrible timing that man had, not even bothering to turn around. Kaida gave a sly grin, obviously not agreeing with my opinion on the situation.

"Hello, Iroh," she said, perfectly at ease with my Uncle's unannounced arrival. Uncle stepped up to her bed, putting a hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"You're looking much better," he commented, pulling back and smiling at her with approval. She gave him a crooked grin.

"Of course, I-"

Kaida paused in midsentence, her eyes drifting back over to my body for some reason. She looked me up and down, her expression going wickedly entertained, but also confused.

"Sparky," she started, cocking her head to the side and glancing up at me like _I _was the one who needed to lie back down. "What the flying Agni are you wearing?"

I frowned deeply, not so much due to the question as it was the fact that she was using nicknames again. I glanced down at my all-black outfit and mask in hand. It wasn't really _that_ bad, was it? They wouldn't think so if they had seen what Alea had looked like by the time we got out of that gosh-forsaken theater.

"You don't even want to know," I assured her. Kaida let a questioning eyebrow slide up, but did not press the matter, apparently taking my words seriously for once.

"Listen," I continued, my voice suddenly laced with urgency. "We have to leave. Now." Kaida's eyes pushed together, the cheeky smile melting off if her face in an instant. She knew that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Kaida's tone was low, now; serious. I looked between the two of them, sighing loudly.

"Azula attacked me," I said, my eyes narrowing at nothing in particular. "I got away, but she will find out where we're staying soon enough." Kaida looked up at the ceiling and groaned, covering her forehead with her palms.

"Perfect," she said sarcastically, acid dripping off the single word, then added, "Do we have to go _now? _How mad did she look?" I frowned in a very not-amused way.

"Yes, we have to go now." My voice was strained from trying not to raise the volume on it. We definitely did not need to attract any more extra attention than necessary, and getting into another verbal slap fight would be the opposite of helpful.

"The faster we get out of here, the sooner you can get to your family," my Uncle added reasonably, nodding.

This seemed to make Kaida more inclined to leave. She bit her lip, then pushed the silk covers off of her lap and moved herself to the edge of the bed. Slowly, she shifted her weight to her feet, where they stood, waiting, just above the floor. _She's going to fall_, I noted mentally at the way her legs started to shake a little under the pressure. Sure enough, Kaida's knees buckled just seconds after that thought crossed my mind. I caught her arm before she could hit the ground, pushing her back onto the bed.

She huffed, giving me an embarrassingly irritated scowl, as if I had been the one to knock her over in the first place. I gave Uncle a '_What now?' _look. He thought for a minute, then turned and walked to the side wall of the room. Kaida glowered as he rummaged through one of his bags, as if she would rather crawl her way to the next stop than take any form of assistance from the fire nation. Uncle stood up once more, his hands wrapped around an old wooden staff that his son, my cousin, had given him. I was surprised that he would trust anyone enough to let them use it.

"Here," Uncle said, passing the staff to her. "I can't give you anymore pain treatments until tonight, or you won't be able to stay conscious, but this will help a little."

Kaida stood up immediately, still stubbornly trying to use the staff as little as physically possible without falling. What was with this stupid pride that wouldn't allow her to accept anyone's help? I mean, it wasn't as if she . . .

That was when it happened. That was when I finally noticed something that was painfully obvious ninety-nine percent of the time; when I finally saw something that everyone else seemed to know about besides the two of us.

That was the moment that I realized that Kaida and I were Exactly. The. Same.

I was surprised that Uncle had not bothered to comment on it yet. I couldn't believe that_ I _had not noticed before. Kaida was incredibly stubborn, she had a temper, her pride made her do stupid things. Every one of the people I knew said those things to me on a near daily basis. My head spun for a moment. I did not like myself; not by a longshot. In fact, I hated myself sometimes for the stupid things I'd done. It was no wonder we didn't get along. Kaida and I may have been the same, but that only made it that much harder for me to like her.

"Yoohoo?"

Kaida's hand waved annoyingly in front of my face, effectively snapping me out of the blank state that I had momentarily fallen into. I pushed her arm away, looking off to the side.

"What's wrong with you?" she questioned, her eyes demanding. "You look pukey." I frowned.

"Nothing," I replied unconvincingly. "Let's go."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"Is this entirely necessary?"

I looked back at the offending mirror. Not only had I been forced into a hat like Zuko's that made my face disappear and my cropped hair fall in my eyes, but they had put me in a dress. A dress! Never in all my life had I felt so restricted as I did in that changing room.

I pulled at the slightly-too-short-for-comfort material. Honestly, I didn't know what was so bad about the clothes that I already owned. They were nice and neutral and comfortable _and I could actually move in them. _What if something happened? How could I fight in a dress, for crying out loud? It was next to impossible. But I had to '_blend in.'_ I huffed. Well, in all that green and tan, there was no doubt that I looked like an earth kingdom villager. Even my eyes were somewhat passable. Not that anyone could see them, of course. I had refused to put on shoes, though, arguing that earth benders did not wear them either.

"Yes, Kaida," Zuko called back, sounding impatient as ever. "You're not the only one who has to do this." I scoffed.

"Hmph. Easy for you to say," I muttered, crossing my arms. "You're not in a dress."

I gave my reflection one last put-out glance before unhitching the dressing room door and stepping out. Zuko and Iroh were at a short rack sifting through some equally as strange-looking clothes to disguise themselves with. Iroh was already clad in the Earth kingdom colors, but the former had yet to do so. I stepped away from the changing room slowly, hoping that no one would be staring at me. Iroh was the first to look up.

"Well," he said, his face splitting into an approving smile. "Don't you look lovely." I rolled my almost completely covered eyes, giving him a well deserved punch in the arm. The retired general only chuckled.

"I look like an idiot," I replied shortly, frowning as I caught my reflection again in a rather oversized shield. Zuko turned around at the sound of my voice, apparently unaware of my presence two inches from his shoulder. He blinked once, taking in my wildly out of character appearance. Ohh, his expression was so almost worth having to wear the horrid outfit. Immediately, the prince slung a pair of clothes over his shoulder and marched past me, muttering something along the lines of 'took you long enough.' I rolled my eyes, laughing a little as he stalked into the changing room.

"He thinks you look nice," Iroh whispered, as he dug out a pouch of gold to pay for our new clothing.

"Oh, yeah. _That's _it," I replied sarcastically, the words coming out through a disbelieving snicker. If anything was making the fire prince act like even more of an idiot that usual, it sure as heck wasn't _that._ I brought up a new issue, content to change the subject before Lord Scarface came back. "So, where do we go from here, anyway?" Iroh counted out the amount of gold that we would need to pay for our little makeover, then pushed it across the counter to the salesperson.

"I'm hoping to get to Ba Sing Se by tomorrow," he replied, but looked away doubtfully, as if he were not entirely sure that was a realistic hope. "We can get there on time just as long as we don't run in to any more problems along the way."

I grimaced, realizing why the old man had sounded so doubtful. I turned to go and give Zuko a taste of his own impatient medicine, my eyes trained on the door of the dressing room.

_Good luck. Problems follow me like a magnet, _I thought. Right before I tripped forward, stumbled, then fell into oblivion.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: I do not own Scarface. XD **

**And, yes, I said 'heck' and 'gosh-forsaken.' I'm a good girl, alright? 8P Read&Review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Ehehe . . . tansi? Please don't kill me! I know I took two whole weeks to update, but I'm trying. My life is chaotic right now and I have discovered that high school is an absolute slaughter house for my creativity. I'm working on it. Forgive and forget? But, hey, 60 reviews. *hint hint* In other words, y'all are awesome despite my lack of time management. =)  
**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Take a wild guess.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_Good luck. Problems follow me like a magnet, _I thought. Right before I tripped forward, stumbled, then fell into oblivion.

**IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE FALLS INTO A BLACK HOLE**

_"Extremes, though contrary, have the like affects.  
Extreme heat kills, and so extreme cold.  
Extreme love breeds satiety, and so extreme hatred."_

_-George Chapman  
_

I didn't know how long I fell for.

Invisible, black wind whipped my hair back as I plummeted toward the the bottom of a pit I couldn't see, toward an end that I wasn't sure was there. I didn't scream, though. Apparently my ability to talk, or scream for that matter, had been left behind, back with Zuko and Iroh. Obliterated. The longer I dropped, the further my ability to speak, not to mention my stomach, seemed to fall behind, as if it couldn't keep up with me. Voices seemed to whisper in my ear as I dropped, loud and hissing, but not clear enough that I could understand a single thing they were saying. It was almost as if they were speaking an entirely different language from me; something ancient. Something extinct.

Something dead.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I reached the bottom of whatever imaginary place I had gone to; or, at least, I prayed that it was imaginary. It did not feel like I had hit the end of a thousand-foot drop, though; did not feel like an end at all. The wind icing my face simply stopped and quieted. My stomach caught up with the rest of my body and my voice found my throat again. I lay face-down, not daring to move. The whispering voices were gone, now only a frightening memory.

After a moment of intense listening, I decided that, wherever I was, I had to be alone. I moved my fingers along where I supposed the ground to be, but there was nothing there. I opened my eyes, only then realizing that I had been squeezing them shut through my entire free fall into nothing. It didn't do much to help, though. Wherever I was, it was empty.

I couldn't see a thing in any direction. The darkness pressed in on me from all sides, threatening to swallow me up like everything else that may or may not have once been there. For the first time since I had learned to shadowbend, the shadows felt . . . uneasy around me. Somehow, I felt as if I was more exposed and helpless there than I had anywhere else my entire life. It was like someone had evened the playing field once more between me and the shadow creatures. And that was definitely a problem, no matter which way you looked at it.

But that unsettling feeling that seemed to hang in the air was not the worst part of where I was.

No. It was the silence.

The quiet was stronger there than any other place I had experienced; stronger, even, than the quiet I had come to know in my countless nights alone, searching for a way to get my family back. There was so much nothing floating past my eardrums that I felt as if the air had been taken right out of the atmosphere. Even in total silence, I still should have been able to hear the sound of my heartbeat; the sound of my breathing. Even the silence had a particular sound of it's own.

But not there. I did not have the slightest idea where I was. All I knew was that I could _not_ pick out the steady rhythm of my heart. There was _no_ breath _whooshing_ in and out of my lungs. The silence was _not_ loud in my ears; it was gone.

There was something very, very . . . wait a minute. _No breath going in or out of my lungs? _On instinct, I tried to take in oxygen, only to find that I could not. Or rather, that I did not need it. The air went through my body, but came out exactly the same as it went in.

That was precisely when I started to get visibly worried.

I looked around frantically, but there was nothing to be looked at. Even when I peered up at the place I fell from, there was nothing but darkness. Once again acting on instinct, I put, or _tried_ to put up, a light shield, but to my complete shock and horror, the closest thing to shadowbending that came out of me was a dull flicker from deep inside my palms. I stared at the two of them as if they had betrayed me, which, in a way, they had.

What was going on? Where was I? And why hadn't Iroh or Zuko come after me yet? I would have expected as much if it had just been Zuko, but Iroh, _I _believed anyway, was the most moral man in the fire nation. He would not simply leave me behind, no matter how much his nephew and I hated each other. My wound stung under the bandages like someone was pouring hot acid into it. The pain treatment was definitely wearing off now. I lowered myself back onto my knees, hands groping around for the staff that I had not wanted to use to begin with. Now, just when I needed it, it was gone. Iroh would not be very happy with me.

Suddenly, there was a faint sound. A melody. It was soft and sad, and it sounded . . . slightly familiar. The high-but-light notes of the song felt almost like that of a child's lullaby, though it sounded much too sorrowful to be meant for a baby. I got the strangest feeling deep inside my chest, almost as if I was going to cry or throw up or maybe pass out. The lullaby fell into my ears like running water, flowing through my body and right into my stomach. I let out a small breath that was caught in my chest.

Out of absolutely nowhere, there came a strange glow beneath my body as I looked down on my hands and knees. The light steadily grew stronger, brighter, until a dim blue filled the air that floated around me. Painstakingly, I stood up, looking around myself a second time. What I saw floored me.

The first thing I noticed was directly under me. There was absolutely nothing under my bare feet, holding me up, keeping me from falling endlessly all over again. It was the strangest thing. I felt entirely stable where I was, yet, for the life of me, I could not feel anything holding me in my spot. I was basically floating, but somehow it did not feel that way. Experimentally, I inched my fingers down, watching in dizzying horror as they sunk below the seemingly invisible force that appeared to be holding me in place. I gasped, wrenching my arm back up to my chest, where it was safe. Or so I thought.

The second thing I noticed was the masses of random objects floating absently through the air. There were paper cranes and ornate fans and thousands upon thousands of these strange, tiny crystals that glowed every color imaginable, even black, though that should have been impossible. It _all _should have been impossible, though. They all drifted through the nothingness that surrounded me and filled itself in every corner and direction.

The third and last thing that I observed was that all of the floating crystals that happened to be the color blue were converging - floating toward each other slowly, like magnets. It didn't take long for me to figure out that they were forming a path, and, by the looks of it, a path for _me. _The glowing gems settled at my feet, which I was, thankfully, able to see, now. They worked out from there, fitting themselves together loosely, like tiny, sparkling puzzle pieces.

Hesitantly, I took two small steps forward. The second my feet were off the crystals at the beginning of the pathway, they shot out to the side, making me jump, and reappeared at the front. Experimentally, I took another step, watching as the crystals went from the back to the front again, forming a never-ending cycle. I started to walk, slowly following the direction the azure diamonds took me. I did not like the idea of going blindly, with no idea who, or what, was behind all this, but it appeared that I did not have much of a choice.

The glittering path winded this way and that, as if it knew of some obstacle invisible to my eyes. I was almost tempted to reach my hand out into the darkness, to see if there _was_ anything out there, but something told me that my hand just might not make it back to me if I tried something stupid like that. Random objects continued to drift by as I walked and, try as I might, I could not make out any sort of similarities or pattern between any of them.

They ranged everywhere from slick obsidian hair pins to thin swords that glowed faintly, just like almost everything else I could see in this strange world. Even my skin seemed to posses a faint luminosity, now that I thought about it, as if it too had decided to play along. My wound ached in protest, forced to work without the support of Iroh's cane. I shoved the pain to the back of my mind for later, my attention focused solely on the drive to get out of wherever I was.

Up ahead, I could see something. My pace picked up a little before I remembered that just because it was the only thing there did not mean that it was safe. In fact, with my luck, it would try to eat me or something of the sort. I approached cautiously, squinting through the dim light in an attempt to make out what it was only when I was fifteen feet away that I realized that it was a person, or at least I thought it was; thought, because they looked like no other person I had ever seen.

Their hair was platinum white, with a pearl sheen that glowed faintly, just like everything else around. It was cropped at their shoulders and fell in their face, making it impossible to tell whether it was a he or a she. All I could see of their face was a frightening grin that stretched across. Their skin was a ghostly white like I'd never seen, as if they had been living inside all their life. The strange person wore a light kimono made of white and silver silks. They looked like some fallen angel in all of that spotless white.

They sat cross-legged at the end of the diamond-laced trail that I had been so hopefully following, completely motionless except for the worrying smile that twitched up as I neared. I paused a little over an arm's distance away from the unknown figure in the dark, waiting to see if they would do anything. A moment ticked by, then two. It did not take long for me to decide that the nauseating silence would drive me insane if one of us did not break it.

"Who are you?" I asked. It took every ounce of control in my body to keep my voice even and not let it sound as hysterical as I felt. "Who are you? And how do I get out of here?"

If the figure in front of me heard the sound of my voice, they certainly didn't show it. I huffed in confusion, wrapping my arms around my body. The temperature had been steadily dropping ever since I'd tried to shadowbend, and it was freezing. My breath steamed out in front of my face as I spoke again.

"Hello?" I demanded, leaning forward. "D-didn't you h-hear me?"

The figure only smiled wider, their teeth showing through in a hair-raising smirk. What was this person smiling about? Couldn't they see that I was under stress; trying desperately to leave? I frowned, taking a step toward them. It only took a second for the figure to raise a bone white hand, but in an immediate response, a rectangle sprang up from their palm, forming a barrier of light in front of me. I stopped in my tracks, my mouth falling open in disbelief.

"You're a sh-shadowbender," I whispered incredulously, my teeth starting to chatter. Still blatantly ignoring my words, the eerie figure stood up with a swish and hid their hands in the sleeves of their silver kimono. They offered a low bow directed toward me, as if I was a good friend of their's that they regretfully had to leave for the moment. I shook my head, becoming dazed and . . . frightened. And the fact that I was scared was the scariest part.

"Hey . . . hey, wait!" I called in a desperate voice as they turned and started to walk away.

I took another step forward. There was no way that I was going to loose this person, who was not only my ticket out of there, but also my answer. To everything, maybe. But, what I had not been counting on, or even considering for that matter, was the glowing rectangle that that strange person had left in my path before promptly leaving me there, alone. As soon as my skin made contact with the light shield, a powerful electric-like shock sent me crashing to my knees. I felt my heart stutter sporadically as I hit the ground with a _thump_, clutching my waist.

The last thing that I saw was the faint luminosity of the disappearing figure as they walked calmly away before I passed out, the non-world falling away beneath me.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Ahhhhh! Kaida has finally found another shadowbender! But who is it? Hehe, yeah, I already know their name and everything, but I'll never tell! Erm, well, not until later. Anyhoo, this was definitely my favorite chapter to write so far! I hope I can get the next out to y'all sooner!**

**Read&Review!  
**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: *Sniff* Hi pplz. Sorry about the lack of enthusiasm, but I am currently suffering from this horrible thing known as the common cold. Like, for serious. I sound like the guy from Green Day. And probably look like him, too. Not a pretty sight. On the bright side, though, all this laying around in bed has let me catch up on my very abused story. *Attempts to smile. Fails***

**-B**

**Disclaimer: If you sue me . . . I'll puke on you.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T  
**

The last thing that I saw was the faint luminosity of the disappearing figure as they walked calmly away before I passed out, the non-world falling away beneath me.

**I SUGGEST A SHORTCUT**

_I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo,  
and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly,  
I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight,  
to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all._

_-Richard White  
_

Someone was calling my name, their voice growing louder and more forceful as my vision got clearer. My head was spinning wildly. I felt as if I were falling back up the bottomless pit, only ten times faster than before. The eerie melody of the lullaby still rung in my ears; the luminescent form of the shadowbender still imprinted brightly on the insides of my eyelids, so clear that I dared not open them for fear that the memory would shatter. Something yanked at my forearm, pulling up on it.

"Kaida . . . Kaida . . ."

The voice was louder, now; more impatient. I frowned at it's persistence.

"Kaida!"

My eyes snapped open at the sharp sound while my mind spiraled back down to Earth. Beneath my scraped-up fingers was the colorful, handmade rug of the earth clothing stand. It all slowly dawned on my foggy consciousness. I realized, with only a mildly shocked blink, that I was on my hands and knees, looking down at someone's feet. I craned my neck back to see who they belonged to, squinting as the sun blinded me all over again. A black form returned the look, though, if their body language was any indicator, not quite as happy about it as I was; whatever _it _was that I was happy about.

"Kaida, what are you doing on the floor?"

Zuko, now dressed as an earth kingdom commoner as well, wore his usual scowl as he towered over me. Boredom and impatience were painted, not only across his facial features, but his entire presence as well.

"This is wrong . . ." I muttered.

Wrong indeed. _Zuko _was supposed to be the one on the ground. What was I in, now, some parallel universe? Was Iroh about to charge in muttering about 'pride' and 'honor' and 'the avatar?' I certainly hoped not.

"Did you hit your head or something?" Zuko asked, crossing his arms. I looked up at the young prince for a moment, blankly as far as he could tell, then used my hands and nails to pry at the exotic rug beneath us.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, quite rudely. I ignored him, continuing to search the ground for an explanation. I pressed my ear to the floor, knocking with my left hand. Nothing.

". . . must be around here somewhere . . ." I mumbled to myself, scratching my head in confusion. There had to be a trap door nearby. After all, it wasn't as if what just happened was _real._ I gave a small, unconvincing laugh, which caused Zuko to shoot me another have-you-lost-your-mind-look. I stood up, pressing my fingertip to my lips in concentration. 

_The sun must be getting to me._

Zuko shook his head, then shrugged, his ember eyes trained somewhere over my shoulder. I followed his gaze to see Iroh watching me, looking like he couldn't decide whether to be worried or amused at my extremely odd behavior.

"What just happened?" I asked strategically. There were two reasonable options here: One, I had just gone to some world and no one had even noticed, or, two, I was mentally insane. Personally, I did not like the sound of either option.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Zuko replied stotically. "Don't you have any motor skills?" I reeled on him.

"Maybe I wouldn't be tripping if I didn't have to wear a dress," I snapped, my temper flaring. I crossed my arms, getting well up in the prince's personal space. The salesman shuffled over to us uneasily, somehow managing to fit his hand in between our bodies without getting it completely mauled off.

"Now, now," he warned shakily, not sounding the least bit authoritative. "Let's just take a deep breath and calm down." We ignored him, continuing to stare at each other to see who would back down first.

"Don't worry," I heard Iroh call dryly from the counter. He stifled a yawn. "They're always like this." Zuko sniffed and turned away.

"Come on Uncle," he said, stepping out from under the awning and into the daylight again. "We need to get going."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

We stumbled, once again, through the thick and pitiless jungle; pitiless in that it did not bother to help our trip go any smoother. In fact, it made it worse. Thick underbrush and mossy tree trunks intruded on our very specific pathway. But Iroh insisted that he had it all mapped out according to the shortest route, so we listened to him and tried not to complain. The weather was warmer now; evidence that we were getting ever closer to our final destination.

_Final . . . _

I probably shouldn't have phrased it like that.

We walked in silence for the most part. Every now and then, Iroh would stop, take a brief look at his map, the start up again in a different direction, but nothing more than that. Needless to say, there was plenty of time for me to mull over what may or may not have happened back in that clothing stand; because I wasn't so sure I had not dreamed the whole thing up. It was, without exaggeration, making my brain self-destruct. It was as if I had gone to a whole other world, all the while keeping the other world - _my_ world - locked in some perpetual time freeze. Neither Zuko nor Iroh had noticed anything strange back there, other than the fact that I had tripped over nothing.

So that was it, then. I was the only one who was even aware that something other than the obvious had transpired in that endless half of a second. Me . . . and whoever had been there with me.

It would be an outright lie to suggest that I was not a bit creeped out by the mysterious white figure - and I also could not shake the nagging feeling that I had seen them somewhere before - but there was something unnaturally . . . intriguing about them. Of course, that made about as much sense as everything else; that is to say, none. At all. I mean, whoever they were, they had obviously been toying with me. Why else would they have deliberately led me there, then walked away without answering a single one of my questions? But, whoever they were, they were like me.

And that just about canceled out everything else.

"Hey, Iroh, Sparky," I said experimentally. Both men-in-question kept walking, but turned to watch me. I willed my eyes to stay on the 'pathway.' "You all didn't notice anything . . . strange about that clothing stand, did you?" I had been aiming to say it as nonchalantly as possible, but a tiny bit of anxiety still tainted my voice. I was too on edge for my own good. Zuko and Iroh both stopped and exchanged a pair of clearly confused looks.

"No," Zuko said suspiciously. "But you've been acting weirder than usual ever since you tripped back there." He continued to stare at me and I could tell that he was searching my eyes for anything that I may not have been telling them. I kept them blank and turned to Iroh, who simply shrugged.

"Nothing other than the ridiculous prices," he brushed off, smiling. "Is something wrong?" I only shook my head, staring up at the fragments of azure sky that showed through the trees. Zuko grunted, then started to walk again, leaving me behind with his uncle. I glanced at the old man for no particular reason, but I did not miss the odd look he was giving me before he promptly cleared it away and strode after the fire prince.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"What do you _mean_ we can't go inside?"

Kaida's foot hit the ground with enough force to shatter bones and a death glare with enough potency to make roses wilt. We were stuck outside the walls of Ba Sing Se with two guards blocking our entry. Two _stubborn _guards, who refused to let us pass by.

"Absolutely not. You three have 'suspicious' written all over your faces," the one on the right replied in a matter-of-fact tone. I almost took _that _comment the wrong way, until I realized that, with my hat on, the man couldn't even see my face. "And rules are rules. If you can't state your business, you can't pass."

"We don't have to tell you anything!" I snapped, my already-thin patience deteriorating fast. The man who had spoken crossed his arms, leaning back on the outer wall with a satisfied smirk.

"And we don't have to let you in."

I growled, my fingers starting to twitch.

"Listen, you-" I started out threateningly, but Uncle put a hand on my shoulder. He had not spoken a word since Ba Sing Se had come into view, including the entire time Kaida and I had been arguing with the city guards. Something was on his mind, for sure. I gave the cocky man one last look, then turned back in the direction we had come. Kaida muttered a string of profanities as we trudged back across the deep gorge that served as a waterless mote to the grand city.

"What now?" I inquired dryly, my eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of a nearby village. It seemed ironic that the fire nation was the very reason we weren't being let inside the walls of Ba Sing Se. They - we - had people so paranoid and on edge that no one was being allowed anywhere without a valid purpose anymore. Entire cities were shutting down because of the fire nation, and we had just run out of luck.

"Well, I'll tell you what we're _not_ going to do," Kaida said stubbornly, planting her hands on her hips. "We're _not_ letting them keep us out."

"Kaida . . ." Uncle sighed wearily. "There are times to break rules, but there are also times to f-"

"No," she cut in firmly, her footfalls quickening. "You can sleep out here in the woods if you want, but I am _not _going to just stand by and let them treat us like that." I stayed next to Kaida easily, despite the fact that she was speed-walking by that point. Of course, the fact that she was short and had to walk quickly just to keep up with anyone made it even easier. It was funny how she seemed to oblivious to the fact that she was only five feet tall. I gave her a sideways look.

"And how do you plan to do that?" I demanded doubtfully. Kaida was clever, but she wasn't a miracle worker. There was only one way in and out of Ba Sing Se, and we had just been kicked out. "Unless you can fly, I don't see what can be done about it."

"Oh," the shadowbender began, seeming to remember something ironic. "I was thinking something just . . . the opposite of flying."

She smirked wickedly, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me off to the side as soon as we were across the city bridge. I said nothing and tried not to think too much about the fact that she was practically holding my hand. After a hundred yards or so, Kaida stopped and pointed her index finger down into the gorge that surrounded the civilization. I quirked an eyebrow. All I saw was black.

"There," Kaida persisted, leaning down so far that I thought she might accidentally fall in. For some reason, the idea wasn't quite as amusing as it might have been before. I reluctantly copied her, taking a closer look into the escarpment. That's when I saw it.

So far down that it was almost invisible, an impossibly thin stone pathway stretched across the deep cavern and right into the jagged side of the canyon. It didn't look the slightest bit useful, but Kaida was smiling proudly next to me.

"How did you know that was there?" I asked. It was practically nonexistent unless you were specifically looking for it. And even then, the bridge would be a pain to try and find. Kaida chuckled lightly, in that insane way of her's.

"What, do you think I just sat around and did nothing before I met you?"

Uncle finally caught up with us, his breath heaving from trying to match our hurried pace.

"That's fine," he called sarcastically between labored breaths. "Pay no attention to the old man reading the map." Kaida and I decidedly ignored him for the moment.

"Well?" she prompted. "Come on."

I blinked at the shadowbender next to me, who was now grinning in anticipation. What, she didn't actually expect me to take her seriously, did she? Judging from the look on her face, that was a yes. She was suicidal. She had to be. That entire scene had 'come down here if you like death' written all over it.

"There's something wrong with you," I stated bluntly, not even bothering to break it to her gently. Kaida nodded thoughtfully, still staring into the gorge.

"Yeah," she said dreamily, then hopped up. "Let's go."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

"You know," Zuko said irritably, "It would be a lot easier if we could _see_." I rolled my emerald eyes through the darkness. We'd been over this; or had he forgotten already?

"We can't," I reasoned with him, my voice curt. "Someone will see us sneaking in." **  
**

It was pitch black as we inched our way across the dangerously narrow bridge that felt like it could cave under any second. I forced my eyes to stay forward, somehow hoping that it might help the situation in any way. I don't think it did. Up ahead, I could hear Zuko's feet scuffing against the rocky pathway, as if he were making sure it wouldn't break. I frowned, remembering how he had insisted on going first. Always the high and mighty one . . .

Yeah, right.

Nobody spoke, concentrating instead on how best not to die. It seemed like we had been slowly creeping across the gigantic chasm for ages. Not one step was taken that wasn't exceedingly slow and deliberate, almost to the point of being ridiculous. If one of us stopped, everyone else did the same. The more impossibly careful steps I took, the more my ankles started to burn from keeping my balance. I wondered idly how much pressure it would take before they gave out. Not much more, probably.

Suddenly, as if I had jinxed myself, my right ankle rolled under at an uneven edge in the stone bridge. I stumbled forward, losing my balance as I tried to shift my weight off of one foot and on to the more stable one. My hand flew out on instinct, my fingers managing to catch on something before I could fall of the edge of the earth. I held myself there, every muscle in my body coiled and tensed. Once I was sure that I had my footing, I let my breath whoosh out from where it had been held captive in my lungs. My heart sounded like an enormous drum in my chest as I slowly started to calm myself down.

"Kaida."

Zuko's voice was a lot closer than it should have been. In fact, it was right at my ear. It was then that I took note of the placement of my hands, my fingers . . .

"Could you let go of my shirt," he started calmly, as if he was afraid I might punch him or throw him off the ledge instead. "And not do that again?"

I felt like the skin that covered my face might ignite when he said that.

"Hmph," was the only reply that I offered, doing my best to fight the overpowering urge to shove him away from me with all the force I could muster. Every instinct in me went on the defensive and I had to concentrate on not acting on them. Considering what had just happened, though, physical and verbal abuse would have to wait until we _couldn't _fall right to our deaths.

And I didn't want a repeat, either.

Zuko hesitated for a moment, as if debating whether or not we should just turn back and find a nice, little village, but apparently deciding against it in the end. The beat of his footsteps started up again, along with mine and Iroh's in response. My face burned as I trailed after the fire prince, like my blood had been replaced with hot acid. I knew that none of us had even seen what had just happened, but, somehow, that fact just made it a whole lot worse. We continued to shuffle through the almost-darkness, our only solid assurance the sky that lit up the scene directly above us. It was the only thing assuring me that I was not back in that strange, dreamlike world, where random objects floated through the air and led you to even stranger people, who refused to tell you what was going on. I sighed. I really needed to come up with some sort of name for that place.

"We're almost at the end," I called, my voice reverberating off of the walls of the enormous cavern. I could almost feel the solid foundation of Ba Sing Se through the dim light as it got ever closer. Soon we would be at the entrance to the tunnel and I would be able to bend us some light to go off of. That little assurance was what kept my mind off of everything else.

Finally, I felt Zuko pause in front of me.

"There's nothing here," came his hissed whisper. I mentally prepared myself. This was the difficult part for more reasons than just one.

"Okay, sparky, listen very carefully," I instructed, my voice equally as hushed. "In the middle of the wall, about knee-high, there should be a lever." Through the inky blackness, I could feel his firebender body-heat shift downward. My ears picked up the faint sound of his hands running over the stone foundation. The noise stopped.

"Okay?" Zuko said, silently informing me that he had found what we were looking for. I felt myself inching closer in anticipation, praying that no one had discovered this secret entrance since I had been told of it. If someone had, we were definitely all doomed. Oh, the power of optimism. I took a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever was about to happen, closed my eyes and gave the final instruction.

"Pull it."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Hehe, that whole 'death written all over it' line reminds me of Nemo. 8) Read&Review!  
**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Choni! What? An update? Yessss! Ava McKenna is updating Blackout! (wow, what a beast I am) Anyhoo, hmmm, I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter . . . it was kind of random and pointless, but I suppose I'll use it since it's already written and all. **

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah. -insert sarcastic comment here- I don't own ATLA.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I took a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever was about to happen, closed my eyes and gave the final instruction.

"Pull it."

**WE JUST HAD TO PULL THE LEVER, DIDN'T WE?**

_"Curiosity didn't kill the cat, but it did traumatize it."_  
_-Unknown_

I suddenly realized that a lot of things could happen in one second.

There was a deafening groan that seemed to be coming from all directions. It shook the very foundation of the world and made tremors rattle my spine. Zuko took a staggered step backward, colliding with me, causing me to stumble back into Iroh. It was like a chain reaction, and it was a miracle that not one of us fell off the stone bridge.

Suddenly, I could feel the entire foundation of Ba Sing Se shifting. Off somewhere in the distance, there were alarmed shouts. They seemed to be coming from inside the city itself, so we had obviously not gone unnoticed. Mentally, I cursed the strange, hooded figure that had told me of this entrance.

Without thinking about it much, I pushed Zuko forward with my right hand and grabbed Iroh with my left, forcing the three of us to stumble all over again. This time, though, we appeared to have fallen in the_ right_ direction. Just a few short steps and we were met with solid ground. If I had had any less control of myself, I might have cried with relief.

My breathing was labored. I rested my hands on my knees, putting all my weight into them. The base of the massive city was still rearranging itself at an alarming rate, but it didn't matter. All I could think about was the fact that I didn't have to worry about falling to my death anymore; that we were out of the danger zone, so to speak. But apparently the universe didn't want my blood pressure to go down just yet. The entrance to whatever chamber we had just entered was slowly being closed up, and there was no way to stop it. In almost no time at all, we were completely sealed in under the city of Ba Sing Se. The shifting stopped, the groaning ceased, and there was nothing but total silence.

Total, deathly silence.

On instinct, my body reacted with a persistent burst of shadowbending - even my subconsciousness didn't like being blind - that illuminated the . . . well, wherever we were. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the unnatural light of my doing.

The first thing I noticed, of course, were Zuko and Iroh. They both stood relatively near to me and were in just as unstable a shape, by the looks of it. But it was only after I had assured myself that they were somewhat alright that I turned my attention to the unfamiliar surroundings that were the foundation of a colossal city.

The place was completely in ruins. Stone tablets and pieces of old pillars lay in gravel and debris on the ground. Ancient-looking architecture and other structures were cracked and broken, but I had a sneaking suspicion that before whatever catastrophe had caused such destruction, this eerie place was breathtaking. It certainly was not now, though. If it took my breath away, I was sure it was due to the ominous air that seemed to hang above our heads like a warning sign. There was something threatening about this place - something wrong - and I didn't like it.

"Amazing."

I frowned. Somehow, I could not match or agree with Iroh's tone. There was no doubt about the fact that an entire abandoned city under Ba Sing Se was amazing, but, looking around the place, I knew that there had to be a reason _why_ we were the only ones down there.

"Amazing?" Zuko countered. "We are trapped inside of a giant rock!" He rubbed his forehead. "Ugh, I knew this was a bad idea."

I quirked an eyebrow but did not say anything in response. For once, Zuko was right. He _had_ warned me against my little secret entrance. But we were there now, and there was nothing we could do to change that fact.

I drew a deep breath, drawing the shadows along with it. The dim cavern slowly lightened, bringing even more of the unsettling scene into view. I felt my body straining to keep the darkness at bay, but did my best to ignore the fatigue that threatened to get the best of me. I scanned the claustrophobic room more closely this time, making sure that my eyes did not miss even a single pile of rubble. I was slightly disappointed to see that the only thing that I had been missing in the darkness was more ruin.

At first glance, it would appear that only an earthbender could have built such a place. Nearly everything was made out of lightly colored stone and marble, which made sense since the entire place was underground. But there was something distinctly . . . _not _earthbender-style about the place. It was too detailed; too intricate. I had seen enough of earthbenders and their villages to know that they preferred a simple style of buildings for the most part.

But, still . . . What other explanation was there? Only someone unnaturally gifted in earthbending could have made an entire village out of the base of an empire. It was the only conclusion that wasn't entirely insane. Suddenly, my eyes ran over an arched entryway in the stone wall opposite us, so quickly that I almost missed it.

"There should be a way out through there," I decided, nodding my head at the only apparent exit in the entire underground cave.

"And who exactly told you that?" Zuko asked in a quietly annoyed voice.

"Some person with a hood over their face," I half-lied lightly, turning to look at him. "Listen," I said, before he could speak again. "You can complain and be annoying later, but right now I think we should hurry." Zuko's ember eyes stayed locked with mine for a few slower-than-usual seconds before I looked away, breaking the tension.

". . . you're right."

My eyebrows slowly lifted, but I simply nodded, rather than voicing my my surprise on the subject of Zuko's unexpected agreement. I wasn't sure, but I could only guess that he felt it too; that crooked air about the cavern that seemed to make my blood run cold at the thought of staying there any longer than absolutely necessary. Not wasting another second debating whether or not to leave, Zuko and I started to walk. Instantly, we were yanked back by the collars of our shirts with enough force to knock us both over, had it not been Iroh who had been the one to pull us back. I opened my mouth to protest, but the old general beat me to it.

"We can not just walk through here," he stated, only confusing me more. "There could be traps set." My eyes widened. Why hadn't I thought of that?

Zuko strode back over to the used-to-be-an opening we had just come through, picking up a fist-sized rock. Just as I riddled out what he was planning to do, the young prince drew his arm back and threw the stone right out into the middle of the ancient city. It hit the side of a particularly odd-shaped slab of marble with a single, resounding crack. All three of us waited breathlessly, the silence pounding against our entire beings. After what had to have been several minutes, I finally let out a decent breath, immensely relieved that nothing had happened.

"Are you insane?" I demanded in a whisper, rounding on Zuko angrily. "Do you realize what could have happened it you had set something off just now?"

"Would you rather we used ourselves to test that, instead?" he countered, his voice equally as hushed, as if we were afraid that someone might try and listen in on our usual toss of insults.

"I would rather not die," I specified, turning back to look out over the newly-threatening scene that was stretched out in front of us; standing in between me and where I wanted to go. Not a very safe place to be, to say the least. It was now just as heart-poundingly silent as it had been before. It seemed that no one really had an answer to our newest obstacle.

Taking a deep breath of musty air - and almost going into a coughing fit as a result - I took the slowest step of my entire life. I moved as if my entire existence depended on my taking the most amount of time possible to move less than three feet in front of me. In a way, it really did. With the smallest sound, my bare foot lifted off the ground, prepared to descend down the single step that would put me right into the primordial, marble village. My arms came out to my sides, helping me to keep my very unreliable balance. My right toe inched down, so deliberately I could hardly stand it.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Kaida?"

I froze my entire body, allowing only my eyes to move. It was Iroh who had spoken. I could pick his voice out of a crowd of one thousand people if I wanted to. Despite that, though, I could not hear anything in his tone that gave away what _he_ thought I should do. Without responding, I closed the last centimeter that hovered between my foot and the ground, not even putting my entire weight onto it.

Three seconds.

Four.

Five.

I slowly shifted my balance onto the foot that was inside the petrified city. The other one followed cautiously after and the chamber stayed exactly the same. I turned back to look over my shoulder at Iroh and Zuko. The fire prince nodded, following my lead and stepping off the ledge next to me. Iroh hesitated a bit longer before doing the same, as if he still didn't think we were completely safe just yet.

Once again, Zuko took the lead, stepping in front of me as we began to weave our way through the ruins and artifacts. I paid no attention, though, my mind focused mostly on the ground.

It was littered with everything from tribal jewelery to what looked like statues of some human figure. I bent down, sifting through fossilized baubles and crystal amulets. The second my hand slid what must have been a marble flower to the side, a dozen tiny, glowing . . . things came out and floated into the air. They weren't fireflies, but they were alive. Instead of flashing on and off the way fireflies did, these things had a constant, milky glow that seemed to come from inside them. Each individual one hovered off in a different direction as they dispersed throughout the cavern.

I stood back up quickly, realizing that Zuko and Iroh had gotten far ahead of me. My pace swiftened and I leapt over several crumbled pillars in my attempt to keep up with them. Zuko turned over his shoulder with an annoyed glance at me.

"Kaida," he muttered. "You're going to set something off."

"No I'm not," I said shortly, falling into step with the two fire nation men. As a testament to his doubt about that, Zuko shook his head wordlessly. "Hypocrite," I muttered, brushing it off. Suddenly though, his head snapped back toward me along with an expression so odd it was almost funny.

"What?" I demanded.

"You've got something in your hair."

I looked up instinctively, as if I thought I could somehow see the top of my own head.

"Define 'something'," I suggested, eyes still on the ceiling. Zuko squinted, leaning toward me. If the expression on his face was any indicator, he didn't have the slightest idea what 'something' was. A slightly worrying thought to say the least.

Suddenly, Zuko's fingers were on my scalp, tugging at a strand of hair. I stiffened, pulling back slightly. The fire prince pulled his hand back as well. In between his thumb and index finger, sat one of the minuscule, glowing animals that I had accidentally scared off. He stared at it for a second, then flicked it off to the side.

"Hey!" I said, crossing my arms indignantly. "That was mean." Zuko scoffed.

"Oh, sorry," he rolled his eyes with all the angst of a sixteen-year-old prince. "I wasn't under the impression that you wanted to keep the bug that was in your hair." Sniffing, I turned away and walked ahead without commenting. Ahead of me, Iroh was staring up at something intently. I caught up to him, looking in the same direction.

Hanging up above the exit was a red, glass square embedded into the stone wall of the cave. There was an obvious glow coming from behind the crimson pane and a white symbol for the sun painted onto the front of it. It was too high for any of us to reach, but I was positive that it had something to do with us getting out.

"What is it?" I asked the elderly general, gluing my eyes to the carmine square.

"I am not sure," he admitted, eyes trained on it as well. "But the exit appears to be locked, so this is our best bet."

I pulled Zuko's dagger out from my newly squired bag, preparing my throwing arm. I wasn't very confident in my dagger-throwing capabilities, but it wasn't as if I was going to let Zuko try and firebend it to death. Especially if we needed some sort of key to get out. Iroh shook his head, giving me a meaningful look and a slight frown.

"I don't think that's how it works, Kaida," he informed me seriously. I deflated.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "What else can I do?" Iroh gave me an isn't-it-obvious look. I had a slight hunch what he was getting at, but there was no way the old man could be right.

"Kaida, think about what is behind that glass," he persisted, eyes locked with mine, now. I shook my head.

"No," I told Iroh with finality. "This is an _earth_bender's civilization. It has to be. And we probably need an earth bender to get out, too." He was absolutely crazy if he thought shadowbending was going to get us out of this mess.

"Well, it won't hurt to try."

I looked pointedly at Zuko, who I hadn't quite realized was standing behind me. His voice was somehow quiet, but demanding at the same time.

"Who's side are you on?" I accused, crossing my arms. The fire prince pointed wordlessly at his uncle.

"Fine," I huffed, lowering into my basic bending stance. Executing the basic movements with relative ease, I focused my energy on drawing the light from behind the blood-stained tile. Nothing happened. Not the slightest change. I concentrated even harder, trying to extend my control beyond the seemingly fragile barrier. Nothing. The light didn't even weaken.

"There, see," I told Iroh and Zuko, waving my hand toward the vermilion glass in an I-told-you-so gesture. "Nothing happened."

The old man sighed, watching the ground, now. I looked down as well, kicking a rock with my foot. Mutely, Zuko moved in front of us, going into more-or-less the same stance I had been in before. With an aggressive kick, the prince sent a jet of embers right at the mysterious stained-glass square. None of us expected anything to happen, which was why all three of us gasped when something_ did._

The second the flames came in contact with it, blood-colored glass of the tile started to blur, like a mirage. The image undulated and the point of light behind it came into view. Most likely in surprise, Zuko's concentration faltered and he lost his grip on the mirage. I was suddenly next to him, my head spinning from the idea I'd just gotten.

"Zuko, do that again," I instructed intently, going into horse stance. He gave me an oddly satisfied look, proceeding to ignite the tile once again. Just as before, it became less than solid and the illumination behind it was revealed. Quickly, almost frantically, I executed my set, drawing the glimmering point out from behind it.

Immediately, there was a sound similar to the shifting of the foundation again as the exit was opened. I almost let go of my hold on the light in relief, but remembered that we just might have to go through that all over again if I did. One by one, we filed through the small opening, none of us bothering to look back at the once-alive, petrified city.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Once again, it was really a kind of out-of-the-blue chapter, but never fear! I got plans for the next one. ^_^  
**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Allo mes petits amis! Redemption! Whoot, whoot! Haha, sorry. My last chapter was stupid (to me anyway) but you all are still awesome. I'm really happy with this one, so I decided to update a little early 'cause I just looove y'all. 8D**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: Why do I have lawyers knocking on my door, guys?**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_One by one, we filed through the small opening, none of us bothering to look back at the once-alive, petrified city._

**_ZUKO TELLS ME A STORY_**

_"I wish he would explain his explination."  
-Lord Byron _

As with all 'shortcuts', the end of Kaida's little secret passageway adventure ended in the three of us climbing out of a sewer cap. How original. Luckily for us, nobody was around to question the sight of three _supposedly_ earth kingdom citizens climbing out of the sewage drain of Ba Sing Se. But, of course, we were now faced with the issue of finding a place to stay. And considering what happened the _last_ time we'd had that problem, I wasn't so sure we should even try.

"We're in Ba Sing Se, now," Kaida informed me as we sat on the rim of a stone fountain, clearly stating the obvious. "There won't only be one inn that we have to choose from this time."

"That's not the point," I grumbled, watching crowds of people run around in front of us. Several kids leapt over Kaida's legs, which were stretched out in front of her, despite the growing number of people in the street.

"Then what is?" the shadowbender inquired, knowing full well that I had no answer to give. The truth was, I didn't have any idea what the point was. We had nothing to do; nowhere to go from where we were. It seemed that there were either so many options that my Uncle wasn't sure which one to take, yet, or there were none. Most likely the latter.

"Hello, there."

All three of us looked up at the sound of the unnaturally optimistic voice. Standing over us in an almost threatening kind of way, there was a woman. Her dark hair was pulled back into a generic bun and she was smiling so wide that I was sure it had to hurt.

"My name is Joo Dee," she said in an emotionlessly-cheerful manner. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

Kaida and I exchanged wary looks with each other. I wasn't sure who this woman was, but there was something . . . not quite right about her. Apparently Kaida noticed it as well.

"Er . . ." the shadowbender started, her voice unsure. "Thank you?" She didn't seem to notice it, but she was starting to inch toward me in an attempt to put some distance between herself and the looming spokesperson.

"If you are all ready," Joo Dee continued, apparently not noticing the reluctance in Kaida's voice. "I will take you to your new home."

"Say what?" Kaida demanded, her eyebrows going up in disbelief. I elbowed her lightly in the side, earning an annoyed glare in the process. I was just as suspicious of this Joo Dee as she was, but right now we desperately needed a place to stay. If she was about to give us a 'new home', then we might as well take advantage of it.

"Yes, we're ready to leave," I informed the slightly-threatening woman, hearing Kaida gasp as I did.

"Good," Joo Dee said, her voice robotic. "Follow me."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I slammed the door shut as soon as that wacko was gone. Well, if you could count the very second she was out of the house as 'gone.' Ohhh, Zuko was sooo going to have it, now. What had he been thinking? Following a strange woman we didn't know into house we had never ordered. It was crazy!

"That was slightly rude," the young prince remarked with a mildly uninterested tone. I rounded on him.

"Ohh, no," my voice was thick with sarcasm. "What's rude, is how you had to open your big mouth and get us into this mess."

"This is hardly a mess," Zuko replied calmly. "And somehow I have the feeling that we would have ended up here even if I _had_ said 'no' to her." I grimaced. I'd had that exact same notion, but I wasn't about to admit that to him.

"Did it ever occur to you that this could have been a trap?" I demanded. "I mean, who just goes around Ba Sing Se giving out expensive houses to random people?"

"Apparently, Joo Dee."

"Okay," I countered. "Correction: What _normal_ person goes around Ba Sing Se giving out expensive houses to people?"

"Kaida," I whirled around to face Iroh, who had been deathly silent up until that point. "It is true that there is something suspicious about what is going on here, but we need somewhere to stay."

"But-"

"Just give me two days to figure out where to go from here," he insisted, eyes locking with mine. "Two days. Then we can leave."

I hesitated, considering his offer. Sure, it was only two days, but was it? A lot could happen in two days. _That, _I had learned very well over the course of my existence. Two days could be quite enough time to change a person's entire life. So was it worth it? Was it worth whatever we could gain by being there if something went wrong?

". . . fine."

Apparently, it was.

Iroh nodded, then turned away once more, lapsing back into that uncharacteristic silence that he had been so absorbed in ever since Ba Sing Se had popped up on the horizon. I didn't know what had gotten into the elderly general, but it was starting to worry me. I knew Iroh well enough to know that very little could cause him to act this way. Zuko was watching his uncle as well, and, judging from the look on his face, he knew _exactly_ why Iroh was acting so strangely. I turned away from the two men and started toward the door without a word of explanation to either them.

"What are you doing?" Zuko's voice rasped slightly, evidence of some kind of emotional trauma going on in his mind. I had him pinned.

"Leaving," I replied shortly, pressing my fingers into the door handle. In no time at all, the young prince had risen and was watching me acutely.

"Why?" he asked, his voice still quiet, but also demanding in a strange way. I smiled at the way that his eyes were trained on me. I had him, now.

"I'm a big girl, sparky. I can take care of myself," I said slyly, paused for a moment, then elaborated. "And I'm not a hostage, therefore I can do whatever I want." Zuko sputtered, turning a vivid red.

"I'm not your hostage anymore!" he declared with about as much dignity as that particular sentence would allow. That is to say, not much.

"Yeah, that's what you think," I sighed, shaking my head. Before the prince even had time to respond, I turned and swiftly pulled the door open.

_"Ahhhh!"_

Okay, let's get something straight here: I don't scream.

Or at least, I don't scream unless something very horrible happens. And, let's face it, anyone would have been mortified if they had opened their door to find Joo Dee two inches from their face. It was a very traumatic experience. If it wasn't for the last minuscule shred of control left in my body, I probably would have slammed it right back in her face, too. My subconscious obviously wanted to.

"Er, can we help you . . . ?" My sentence trailed off at the way her face stayed exactly the same, no matter how hostile the waves of emotion were coming off of me. Zuko was walking up to the door, now, apparently wanting to screw things up again.

"I am here to help you," she stated blankly, her smile making her eyes squint.

"Um, actually we don't need any help," I said hurriedly, glancing behind the worryingly cheerful woman. "Me and Z- er, Lee were just going for a walk." I looped my arm around Zuko's, pulling him next to me and putting on a fake smile. The prince gave me a disgusted look, but kept quiet; a good decision on his part.

"I will come with you," Joo Dee said optimistically, as if that were exactly what we were hoping for. My entire body stiffened, my head whirring. If there had been any doubt in my mind about it before, it was all but gone. There was something crooked going on; I was positive of it. The real question, though, was _why_. Why were we being singled out by this woman and whoever she may have been working for? Did they know who we really were? We had a huge problem if anyone found out our actual identities.

"Kaida," Zuko murmured, shifting uncomfortably beside me. I snapped out of my intense train of thought, realizing that my 'fake' grip on the prince had become something of a bear trap. I untangled our arms, noticing the red mark where I had been accidentally pinching his skin.

"No, thank you," Zuko replied calmly, turning his attention toward Joo Dee. "We were hoping to go by ourselves." His ember eyes narrowed as he spoke; evidence that he at least somewhat matched my suspicion on the whole situation. I just hoped that the look would be enough to get his point across to _her._

Suddenly, Joo Dee's eyes flickered, and, for one odd moment, I could see something in them that had not been there before. A strange look of shock struck her usually emotionless features. But, much to my frustration, the expression was gone within an instant. It had happened so quickly that I almost doubted that I had really seen anything at all; almost convinced myself that it was nothing.

Almost.

"Okay," the dark-haired woman replied, lapsing back into her usual creepy facial expression and tone of voice. I raised an eyebrow as Joo Dee waved goodbye, then waltzed out the door with no further comment of argument on the subject.

"That girl is dead behind the eyes," I noted offhandedly, watching her walk away.

"Come on," Zuko said, wasting no time in getting out of the house.

The streets of Ba Sing Se were so . . . orderly. I was much more used to the smaller villages, where you could find local musicians playing along the side of the road and children running out in front of you every five seconds. But this place . . . everything was so civil, so _structured_. Everyone seemed as though they were afraid to break some unspoken code of conduct. Zuko walked by without a passing glance, as if he were used to people acting this way. I supposed that the fire nation must have been just strict as Ba Sing Se, if not worse. Growing up in a place like that, it only made sense that he should see nothing wrong with the way this entire city was acting. It was all he knew.

I glanced up at the fire prince. He had forgotten to put his hat on before leaving, and his scar was visible, now. The old burn made him look like some sort of criminal. Or maybe a war hero. Either way, someone you wouldn't necessarily want to get too close to. It never seemed to bother him, though; the mark of a traitor that he was forced to wear on his face. Zuko must have felt my eyes on him, because he turned his head to look at me. I wasn't quite sure how much he could see, though. His dark bangs fell in front of his face, even worse than they had been when we had first met. Or, whatever it is that you would call our 'first encounter.'

Our eyes locked, and I wasn't about to let go. It was a valuable skill, to be able to read people's emotions through their eyes, and I knew that it worked for me. Even though we were still walking, neither of us looked forward. I scanned Zuko's eyes, picking up traces of conflict and sadness. No matter how hard he tried to mask himself, there was always a way to figure him out in the end. I just had.

"What's wrong with your uncle?"

Zuko looked away, his eyes narrowing. Not in an angry way, though. It was more like he was trying to hold back other, more insightful emotions from displaying themselves on his face.

"It's not a story I like to tell," he replied, his voice breaking.

"Maybe that means that you should," I offered, stopping in front of a table outside an herb store. Zuko paused as well, then, realizing what I had stopped for, sat down across from me. His eyes remained glued to the ground, even as he spoke.

"My uncle wasn't always such a peaceful person," Zuko reminded me gravely, with a weary sigh. "Back when I was just a kid, he was, first and foremost, the most feared and respected general in the fire nation . . ."

.

_The dark-haired general looked on the siege of Ba Sing Se, pride shining through barely concealed eyes. He had done it. He had finally done it. After countless years of planning and failed attempts, he had been the first in all known history to penetrate this grand city's walls._

_Satisfied as he was, though, there was something . . . lacking. But why should there be? He had done the impossible; accomplished what most fire nation generals only dreamed of, and he had done it all almost singlehandedly. So why did it feel like he had somehow failed in the process? The man frowned slightly, eyes still trained on the ongoing battle. If this was what victory felt like, then maybe he needed to rethink his current career choice._

_Fire and ash accumulated on the horizon, making the already-dim sky even darker. The scene was ominous and looming, signals that a storm was on it's way. The air all around Ba Sing Se had turned a dark purple, with violent streaks of fuchsia added in. Fitting, the general supposed. He had never been very partial to fighting, after all. But, spirits, he was good at what he did, and chose to make the best of it._

_The man's mind started to wander, drifting off to how glorious the celebration would be when he got back home. Of course, he and his son would have to take the night off as a well-earned reward. And maybe he could invite his nephew as well. The boy never had anyone to talk to, forced into being around his sister and her friends so much. And he needed to relax a little every now and then._

_Suddenly, the general was pulled from his captivating fantasies by sight of a dark figure sprinting up the hill toward him. Clutched in his hand was a small, rolled up message. The general reached out as soon as the delivery boy reached him and the note was instantly dropped into his palm._

_"I'm sorry," the messenger stuttered awkwardly as he offered a low bow, then hurried off. _

_The general took on a confused expression, unraveling the tie that held the letter shut. The scroll fell open, as if on command. The man's eyes flicked back and forth, reading and rereading the meaningless words that painted the paper. His eyes widened; the sheet slipped from his dead fingers, falling to the damp ground. Splotches of liquid decorated the paper as it began to rain lightly._

_"No," the man whispered, despite the fact that no one was around to hear it. The rain was falling in soft sheets, now, drenching his hair and face. He made no move to find cover, even as thunder threatened loudly overhead. The scroll on the ground slowly broke apart from the moisture, pieces of the message slipping down the hill in different directions._

_"No," the general repeated, a bit louder this time. He fell to his knees, no thought of soiling his uniform. He stayed there, perfectly still, save for the occasional sobs that racked his body, as the storm drowned the world out._

_.  
_

I didn't know what to say. Plain and simple. My mouth opened, then closed again as I changed my mind, several times before I managed to come up with what I hoped was an acceptable response.

"I-I never knew that," I said quietly, biting my lip. Zuko looked sad, but it didn't seem to be entirely due to the death of his cousin. It appeared mostly as if he felt for his uncle more than anything else.

"Uncle doesn't like to talk about that day," the fire prince informed me, looking off to the side in a very characteristic gesture. I sighed, unintentionally doing the same. We fell into a thoughtful silence, watching the orderly lives of the citizens of Ba Sing Se unfold in the street next to us. Not that there was very much to observe.

"That was all I wanted to ask you about," I said after a minute, watching as two girls about my age walked side by side along the sidewalk. Their posture was ramrod straight, their mannerisms polite and reserved. I didn't think that I had ever acted like that in my life, but I was glad of it. I didn't think that I would want to be so fake all the time, nor did I think I was even capable of such a task.

Zuko nodded, indicating that he had heard me, but made no move to get up. Apparently, he wasn't quite ready to go back to the house just yet. I let myself fall back into my chair, still watching the crowds go by. I wondered idly what they saw when they passed by us, sitting alone in front of an herb market. Acquaintances? Friends, maybe? What exactly were we, anyway? My first thought would be to say that we were mortal enemies, cursed to work together by a stubborn old man, but obviously that had changed drastically in the recent week or so. Although we were often at each other's throats, we were also fully capable of working together.

Still, though, friends did not seem like the right word to define our relationship. We were too unknown to each other to qualify as friends. And besides, what on earth would my family think if they knew I was friends with a firebender? Well, my currently living family, anyway. Or, at least I hoped that they were still alive. The only person who possibly could have approved of it would have been my mother. But she was dead.

And my father had deserted us long ago.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see one of the prim-and-proper girls watching me intently. Her mouth was moving as if she were speaking quietly to her friend, but somehow I felt that she wasn't. I listened harder to see if I could pick up on anything the girl was saying, but it was impossible. She had to have been whispering. Still, her eyes remained on me and Zuko, and every so often she would make a strange gesture with her right hand.

Instantly on guard, I raised my gaze to meet her's. Our eyes locked for a half-second before the young girl looked away, reclaiming the attention of her 'friend'. Immediately, a fed flag went up in my mind. That was not natural behavior. There had to be something going on. Without alluding to the stress that was now reeling inside of me, I looked back at Zuko, trying my best not to appear to have noticed anything strange about what had happened.

"I feel like we're being watched," I said softly, giving Zuko a serious look. "This entire city makes me uneasy." The fire prince's eyes met mine, gold on emerald, as I attempted to get a certain message across to him without having to speak it aloud. He raised an eyebrow, nodding just enough for me to notice it; agreement.

"Let's go back, then," he replied. I thanked the spirits that he understood what I had been trying to get across. We both stood up very slowly, trying not to draw attention to ourselves, and began to walk back toward the house that Joo Dee had shown us to. Zuko tapped my arm once to get my attention, without taking his eyes off the road ahead of us.

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you when we get back," I replied, just as covertly.

Maybe I was only imagining things, but I could have sworn that I heard the sound of footsteps behind us. Definitely _not_ a good sign. It took a surprisingly large amount of willpower to continue to walk at a normal pace. Up ahead, I could see our house coming back into view. My chest flooded with relief at the sight, my body starting to relax with every step that took us closer. It was only a few more buildings away when we passed in front of a narrow alleyway. Without warning, I was yanked into the cramped space, blindfolded, then hit on the back of the head.

It took three seconds. Then I passed out.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: My cliffhangers kill you all, I know. Read&Review if you want another chapter!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Allo! Do you know what just happened? Huh? Do you? Well, my sexy readers, I will tell you. I just broke a hundred reviews! So, this is my I-love-you-all present. 8) A billion thanks to Nicowarriorwizard, JesusFreak, and Vball Freak, because I heart my anonymous reviewers too!**

**-B**

**Disclaimer: No, just . . . no.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_Without warning, I was yanked into the cramped space, blindfolded, then hit on the back of the head. _

_It took three seconds. Then I passed out._**  
**

**HEADACHES AND INSANITY**

_"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said,  
but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."  
-Robert McCloskey_

My head hurt.

Hurt like I had been stampeded, then tossed into the middle of an earthquake. Hurt like I'd had my eardrums blasted out nonstop for the last week. It was the very first thing that my subconscious registered; the blaring pain in my skull. Surely it was illegal for someone to feel so terrible. Or at least immoral. And then, if I concentrated and looked past the pounding of my head, I could pick up on other, less severe pains that were being drowned out by the splitting headache: my wrists felt bruised, my ankle felt sprained and countless other small cuts and scrapes decorated my body, I was sure.

Slowly, I lifted my eyelids, which felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. It didn't do much to help. Wherever I was, it was almost pitch black. There was a chilling draft coming from toward the ceiling, and the only light that my eyes could pick up was coming from something across the room. There was a steady beeping, but I wasn't sure yet whether it was real, or if the agitating sound was just all in my head.

Hazily, the memories of what had happened started to drift back into my consciousness. I remembered that Kaida and I had gone for a walk . . . then Kaida had started acting strangely, so we had begun to walk back . . . then the last thing I could recall was being yanked off to the side by my collar, gagged and struck unconscious by someone I couldn't even see. Not particularly helpful, to say the least.

Ever so cautiously, I pushed myself up off of the cold, solid ground that I could only guess was the inside of some prison cell. Within an instant, I was almost forced to lie back down due to a strong wave of nausea and dizziness, but I stubbornly sat the rest of the way up. For almost five minutes I stayed right there, trying to regroup and build up enough energy to push myself up the rest of the way. My feet tingled, recovering from the numbness that they had been inflicting on one another due to the awkward position I had been lying in. Obviously, whoever had done this had merely tossed me onto the floor without a second thought.

Painstakingly, I shifted my knees so that they were under me, then transferred my weight onto them. The muscles in my legs screamed in protest, and it only got worse as I began to stand up. I was about halfway through the process of straightening myself when they gave out, causing me to stumble forward and slam into something. I moved my hand over the smooth surface of whatever it was that I had fallen into. It seemed to be some sort of wall . . .

No, I realized, watching a green light flash on and off in my side vision. It was glass.

My hand moved, more urgently now, along the sleek, glass wall that held me in. My fingers traced the inside of the invisible barrier. Move. Stop. Turn. Move. Stop. Turn. It did not take me long to ascertain that the wall went all the way around. Of course it did. I had expected nothing less.

"Kaida," I whispered into the blind darkness, tapping the glass enclosure. Nothing. Either she was still unconscious, or she wasn't there. I tapped a little louder, actually vocalizing her name this time. "Kaida."

"Mmmmm . . ."

Oh, yes. That was definitely Kaida; no doubt about it. Despite my disbelief at the fact that she was able to ignore me, even at a time like this, I couldn't deny that I was relieved to hear her voice. Er, not that I really _cared_. I would just get yelled at by Uncle if I came back without her.

"Kaida," I called again, my voice still hushed. "Get up. This is no time for you to be lazy." Oh, yeah. That would get her up. It would also make her mad at me, but I wasn't in the position to care by that point.

"Shut up, sparky," came the shadowbender's half-conscious reply. There was a slight pause, then, "Why can't I feel my face?" I blinked.

"Uh, I don't . . . know," I said slowly, the fluctuation of my voice turning it into a question. "Kaida, are you conscious?" She seemed slightly . . . delusional. I wondered idly how hard they'd hit her. She was obviously more out of it than I was.

"Yes . . . no . . ." she paused. "Is it a trick question?"

Pause.

Well, that answered my question.

I inched toward the right wall, in the direction her voice seemed to be coming from, moving my hands along the smooth glass. There had to be a way to get out of there - it was only glass, after all - and no doubt Kaida was being kept in a similar cell. So, if I could get myself out, then I could get my idiot out as well.

"I can't see anything!" I heard Kaida whine loudly, her voice clearer now that I was close to her cell. I found myself wondering exactly what they had hit the girl with.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I demanded, still frantically searching for a hatch in my glass room. Was she crazy? "You're the shadowbender."

There was silence for a few distracted seconds after that, and I was almost afraid I might have hurt her feelings. But, as usual, Kaida found a way to erase any and all regret that I may have had on the subject. The light in the room started to flash on and off, and all the while the obviously-drugged shadowbender - who also happened to be my responsibility in a way - was cackling like the maniac I knew she was. In the flickers when the lights were on, I managed to catch glimpses of the room we were in. It wasn't enough to do me any good, but there seemed to be some kind of steel machine in the corner, which explained the flashing green light, and it was empty from what I could tell.

In an instant, though, there were alarmed voices coming from far off. Undoubtedly there were guards outside wherever we were, and Kaida had just brought us to their attention. I struck the wall on her side with enough force to shatter bones, causing the seizure-inducing flashing to cease.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed, cursing as a piercing alarm drove into my eardrums like a nail. It was no use, now. We had been caught in the act; or rather, _Kaida_ had been caught, and _I_ had been towed along for the ride. I could almost imagine the offending sound of guards marching down the hallway toward our holding room.

Through the now blood-tinted light flooding the room, I could fully see where we were: surrounded on all sides by something that I had formerly thought to be glass. Formerly, because no glass on earth was strong enough to hold up against the force of the blow I had delivered just moments before. Even in the crimson alarm, though, the stone that made up a good part of the chamber was obviously the characteristic dark green of the earth kingdom. But that didn't make sense. Despised as I was worldwide, I had not yet made a single enemy from the earth kingdom. And, even if I had, there was no way anyone could have recognized me. Only somebody I had confronted recently could have known at a passing glance. But if that was true, then . . .

Suddenly, the door flew open, hitting the wall behind it with an ear-splitting _crack_. The blaring siren and the vermilion light shut off simultaneously, clearing the way as a clean, white light - similar to Kaida's - replaced it.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

I let out a low growl. I suppose that made the about as much sense as anything else. Still, the metallic sound of Azula's voice in my ears was enough to make me groan internally, not to mention induce a brand new headache. I did not meet my sister's eyes, instead turning them to Kaida. That was when I got shock number one of the day.

I couldn't have said much, seeing that I probably looked just as bad, but . . . she looked _bad_. It was painfully easy to tell where Kaida had been hit, because her obsidian hair was caked with blood in one particular area. Her face was covered with as much dirt as I_ felt_ like I had on mine, and her new dress was torn in several places. She was a mess.

We both were.

Azula wasted no time letting that fact sink in, however. She strolled up to the both of us, looking for all the world like she _owned_ all the world. I was fairly certain she already did in her mind. There was a slight curve of a smile on her blood-red lips; a warning sign. I never did like her smile. It always meant that something was on her mind.

The clicking of Azula's heels stopped abruptly as she reached my cell. With the added height of her shoes, we were eye to eye, the glass wall only thing standing between us; the only thing keeping us from killing each other. Our gazes met; her's indifferent, yet amused; mine cold.

"Ohhh, this is sweet," Azula sneered, speaking each word with relish. I said nothing, but refused to look away. It was pathetic, the way that I allowed her to mock me without even defending myself, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. There was nothing I could tell Azula that I had not already. She knew everything, after all.

Kaida moaned quietly from her own corner of the cell, murmuring something about her head that actually sounded partially sane. Azula made no display of emotion that she had heard my . . . partner, nor cared. Her feline eyes stayed solely on me, as if we were the only two people there. Mine, however, slipped betrayingly toward where Kaida's voice was coming from. Azula's grin suddenly became more entertained as she followed my gaze.

"Your little friend took the hit worse than you did," she stated casually, her tone biting. "She's been awake for far longer than you have, and completely loopy." I strained to keep my eyes on my sister, forcing slow breaths at the same time. There was too much I wanted to say; no possible way of telling her all that I really wanted to, so I kept my mouth shut.

My mind was spinning now, though, weighing in every last option that I could manage to dream up. It was like my brain was on double time, scrambling to unearth a solution. I wasn't sure how long we had been unconscious, but Uncle had to be looking for us now, or at least getting suspicious. So, that was one thing that I could count on. And if I was right about what Azula was planning to do, then there was going to be one, clear shot to get out of there. Just one, but maybe one was enough.

"What?" Azula asked, her voice tainted with the slightest hint of blunt irritation. "You're not going to defend her?" One of her thin mahogany eyebrows slid up, as if demanding that I behave the way she had apparently expected me to. I gritted my teeth. It was beyond me how Uncle managed to control himself so well around my sister, and even more unbelievable that he expected me to do the same. Patience was not fond of me. Azula smiled quickly.

"The silent treatment, eh? No matter," she replied to my unspoken thoughts, flipping her dark hair. "I have all the information I need right at my fingertips." My posture stiffened at my sister's words.

"That's right," she said, her smirk deepening as she gauged my reaction. "You've been sold out."

My mind raced back, thinking of all the people I had spoken to in the past few weeks. Was it Sayo? That did not seem likely, since he never really found out who I was. The old lady from the inn was completely out of the question, and Joo Dee . . . well, there was a better chance of her being directly involved with all of this than not.

Azula turned abruptly and snapped, her overlong nails clicking against each other. Instantly and wordlessly, six pairs of earth kingdom men filed through the entrance. They wore the traditional clothing of the earth kingdom, and their hats shielded their eyes. I had never seen these men before in my life, but there was just something in their presence that told me exactly how dangerous they were. Everything about them was orderly: their group, their uniform. Even their facial expressions were exact copies of one another. Azula smiled coldly at my expression.

"The Dai Lee," she said with foreboding, gesturing back toward the neat rows of men. "Every last one of them is a professionally trained killer, so perfect that no one could even hope to get away." Pause. Sadistic smile. "Not even my stupid brother and his disappearing . . . whatever she is."

I scanned the Dai Lee again. Earth benders siding with a firebender. Why? Because they were afraid of my sister? It was true that she could scare just about anyone she wanted, but I had always assumed earth benders to be stubborn. There wasn't the slightest hint that they were even opposed to what they were doing. Maybe what happened to me didn't matter to them - that, I could understand - but, as far as they knew, Kaida was an innocent bystander. Unless, of course, Azula had told them something that wasn't true, which she probably had.

My sister chuckled a little, pacing in front of the Dai Lee's perfectly straight rows with her hands behind her back. I supposed she enjoyed playing commander more than anything else; like a kid pretending to be in charge. It was easy to tell that she thought she had more people under her control than she really did.

"Now, where were we . . ." Azula mused, stopping in front of a random Dai Lee soldier. The man looked like he was fighting to keep his face blank, but my sister payed him no attention. She suddenly perked up. "Oh, yes. I remember."

She clapped loudly, making my already throbbing head pound.

"Bring out the informer!" she barked, then turned away, but not without managing to shoot me a twisted smile before she marched to the back of the room.

In response, none other than Joo Dee came through the back door, and alongside her was a figure who I assumed to be the person who had betrayed my identity. My blood started to boil. I couldn't even tell who it was, because they had been blindfolded, gagged and covered with a dark cloak and hood, but they were struggling uselessly against Joo Dee's grip on their right arm. Azula grabbed their left shoulder, mercilessly shoving them forward. And as angry as I was with this person for selling us out, it was still a painful thing to see; like watching someone kick a dog.

I supposed that was the difference between me Azula and I, though. Despite the countless accusations from people all over the world about how heartless I was, there had to be something inside me that was clinging to the last ounce of humanity that my country had, for so long, tried to crush once and for all. My mother had had it as well. And I knew it was there, or else that small sight would not have bothered me as much as it did.

Azula knelt down and took her prisoner under the chin, turning them roughly to face me. The hostage whimpered, the sound of their voice familiar.

"She was very easy to manipulate, you know, Zuzu," Azula taunted, making a pouty face that had helped her get away with things for so long during our childhood. Finally, I had to speak.

"Quit playing games with me, Azula," I said threateningly, my voice rasping from sleep and lack of use. My sister smiled, her eyes locking on mine with one clear message in them: I win.

It took no time at all. Azula yanked the hood off of her tiny prisoner, and a pair of large, brown eyes melted into mine. That, accompanied by two crooked, chocolate-colored pigtails, provided me with shock number two of the day:

"Alea!"

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Read&Review! (you know you want to)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hi, hi, everyone! Okay, so part of this is the last chapter, but from Kaida's point of view. Hehe, yeah. I just felt the need to write out what was going on in her head at the time. Enjoy!**

**-B**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_That was when I got shock number two of the day:_

_"Alea!"_

**I COULDN'T HAVE JUST BEEN DEAD**

_"An argument needs no reason;  
Nor any friendship."  
-Ibycus_

You know that confused feeling you get right when you wake up from a random, middle of the day nap, and you can't remember when you fell asleep, what time it is, or why the heck you're lying on the floor?

Yeah, well, that was how I felt. Which was fine, except for the small fact that I'd been that way for the past hour and a half. So, either I had acquired some sort of mental disease from hanging around Zuko all the time, or something was up. I was about eighty-three percent sure that it was the second option.

So, there I was, sitting around in who-knows-where, trying to figure out why it felt like I was at the bottom of the ocean. My vision was a useless blur of black, gray and a small area of green, my head felt like I had been spiked with cactus juice, and I could not, for the life of me, get that _whooshing_ sound out of my ears.

_Maybe I'm dead . . ._

"K . . . ihh . . ."

My senses perked up, straining to listen harder. It was the first sound I had heard in hours besides the constant roaring of my own invention. But, then again, maybe I was making all of that up, too. It sounded as if I were in an empty room, the way the voice seemed to echo, and my sight wasn't much better. All I could make out were undiscernable smudges that would not quit swaying.

"Ka . . . da. Get up . . . sno . . . ee lazy."

Wait a minute . . . Zuko? What was he doing in hell? Oh, great. So now I was dead _and_ stuck with him. I really _was_ in hell wasn't I? I tried to say something along the lines of "Shut up, sparky," but I doubt any if it came out as actual words. I felt completely out of control of every muscle in my body. It seemed as though I was just a puppet; someone else moving and living for me. _Ugh, why can't I feel my face? _I thought to myself. I heard Zuko's voice again, but I was still unable to decipher what he was trying to tell me.

Honestly, he couldn't even be helpful when we were dead? Of course, it could also have been my fault too, considering that there appeared to be a good amount of sea water sloshing around in my skull and preventing me from hearing his voice. You know what they say: never swim thirty minutes after you drink uncle Iroh's tea, or something like that. Well, I forget the saying most of the time. I reached up to touch the side of my head out of habit, taking in a sudden breath when a sharp pain pierced my consciousness.

Instantly, the cloudiness of my mind vanished, leaving only a stabbing clarity to replace it that was so potent I was sure that I must have flinched back in response. Everything became sharp and defined. If the lights had not been out, then I was sure I would have been able to see everything with perfect detail.

"Kaida," came Zuko's hesitantly confused voice, now crystal-clear. "Are you conscious?"

He seemed to doubt that I was.

And that's when I started to as well. Of course I was conscious, but, then again, could you technically be conscious if you were dead? I felt awake, but the throbbing pain in my body spoke otherwise. And, if I really _was_ dead, then why would I be feeling pain at all? Wasn't death supposed to be a fluffy cloud up in the sky, or something along those lines? The spirit world really needed some help in that department if this was the best I was going to get.

Ugh, this would have been so much simpler if I could see! Why? Why did it have to be so dark? If I could only get a good look at this strange limbo I had been sent to, then maybe it would make more sense to me; shed some light on what was happening.

"What . . . o you want . . . e to do abo . . . t it?" I heard Zuko demand, who's voice was beginning to go fuzzy again. I almost groaned in irritation with my smudgy hearing. "You're . . . e shadowbender."

Oh. Right. Leave it to me to forget_ that._

I attempted to push myself up, only then coming to the realization that I was lying flat on my back, but it took all of ten seconds and I was completely out of breath from the effort. I wasn't giving up just yet, though. Upright or not, I could still use my bending. Putting so much energy into the action that I swore I started to sweat from it, I forced the shadows out from the now-swaying room. Much to my annoyance, though, the best I could manage was an erratic flickering, and even when the room was visible, my vision was so blurred that it hardly even mattered.

Suddenly, a loud crash shook my dangerously unstable mentality. I flinched, immediately ceasing the mad flashing of my shadowbending in an instinctual attempt to assure that it didn't happen again.

"Wha . . . you think . . . you're d . . . ing!"

Why was Zuko yelling at me? He was the one who had suggested I shadowbend in the first place! I tried to say something - to offer some sort of snappy retort - but, before I even had the chance to attempt to speak, I was overcome by a wave of nausea that would have made a weaker girl faint. I could feel my body contract as I forced myself not to make a sound, though somewhere deep inside I was sure that I didn't succeed in doing that in the end.

Almost simultaneously, a blaring noise from all around tore through my already sensitive mind, accompanied by a sick red light that pulsed like the blood in my ears. I had the strangest inclination to stick my fingers in them to drown out the screeching sound. The part that I was least prepared for, however, was the way my body responded.

It was terrible; the worst pain I'd ever experienced. It overshadowed every other scrape and bruise on my body. I felt like my forehead was being cut open with Zuko's dagger. If I had thought that the incident with Sayo the gypsy was the worst I could go through, then I had never been so wrong as I was then. There was no comparison for it. My mind instantly went under. I felt like I was drowning in the ocean, unable to steal even the smallest gasp of cool air.

And the worst part of all, was that my breathing was perfectly fine.

After just a few short moments, though, the flashing and the blaring stopped. I took in a gasping breath, only then realizing that I had been holding it in. Through the thin veil of my eyelids, I could tell that the chaos had ceased, but I didn't dare open them to look for fear that the pain in my head would come back. Even after it was gone, I could still feel it in the echoes that refused to go away. Just thinking about it made me start to shake violently.

Soon, the light changed to something brighter; something a bit more comforting and familiar. There were random changes that I could notice in the light that shone through my eyelids, telling me that something or someone out there was moving.

Through my cloudy hearing, I could pick out Zuko's voice, along with another, distinctly metallic one that triggered an instinctive reaction of defense. The two, vastly different voices seemed to be conversing back and forth. At first, both were steady; even. But gradually they began to escalate in volume and intensity. I might have listened to what they were saying, but at that point all I had the capacity to concentrate on was the gradual, but noticeable, decline in my head's 'fuzziness.' Small details and memories of what had recently happened started to become clearer and more concrete. Sounds and words started to go from meaningless jibberish to making some vague kind of sense and I suddenly developed a past and a sane mind once again.

I focused on slowing my frantic gasping and taking deeper, longer breaths. I was Kaida Hotaru, I was in Ba Sing Se, I was on a misson to rescue my family. These facts sluggishly began to dawn on me as I realized that I had temporarily forgotten my entire entity and reason for my being there.

Suddenly, the two voices stopped yelling. There was a low shuffling, a short thump and, finally, the lights went out once more. The darkness instantly soothed my headache enough that I was able to open my eyes. I almost sighed out loud in utter relief. I could hardly see a thing through the black, but what I _could _see was only a little smudged by my bad vision.

"Ughh," I moaned exhaustedly, rolling over onto my back. I couldn't just have been dead, could I? Still collapsed, I stuck my pointer finger into the air above my head, letting it slowly illuminate the room. If I looked past my feet, I could see what looked to be the remains of an ancient civilization . . . with a laboratory stuck right into the middle of it. As for what was behind me, well, I wasn't quite ready to believe that it was worth getting back up to see.

"Kaida?"

I turned my head to the left to stare dully at Zuko, despite the strange cheerfullness I felt at hearing his dumb voice.

"No, the bogeyman," I replied humorlessly. "Who do you think, moron?"

What? I was frankly the only girl who would spend any amount of time with him, including his own sister. So, who else but me would be right there in the prison cell next to him? I'll tell you who: nobody.

And, apparently my headache had made me a little bit moody. Oh, well.

The fire prince squinted at me with a skeptical expression on his face. I looked back at him with about as much humor as before, feeling like a practice dummy all over. Then, suddenly, he thrust his hand in front of him, holding up a peace sign. It was a strange pose, especially considering the fact that his face was dead serious. I arched an eyebrow. And I thought_ I _was out of my mind.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Everything froze. His voice was completely serious. A dangerous foreboding filled the air.

"Zuko," I started, my voice completely upbeat and pleasant. "Do you want me to kill you when we get out of here?"

To my surprise, he looked almost satisfied. Or like he was about to grin; not the usual response to someone threatening to murder you. Suddenly, his own sanity became questionable.

"Good," he replied, pushing himself up with some effort. "You're conscious."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, using about half of my energy just to sit up; a process that took a lot longer than I was satisfied with. "I've been conscious this whole time." Zuko frowned mutely, giving me that funny look that he always did right before he lied to someone.

"Er, yeah."

For a moment, I considered bugging him about it, but we had bigger problems to worry about. I stared up at Zuko, leaning back heavily on my arms. He just stood there uselessly.

"Well?" I insisted impatiently. "What are you doing over there? Come tell me what the heck is going on." Zuko's face darkened at that comment, confusing me. He stepped forward, putting his right hand up like he was about to swear an oath. It took me a moment to realize that he was actually pushing against something.

"Glass?" I guessed. The fire prince shook his head.

"I don't think so," he replied. "I tried to kick through it earlier. It's as hard as steel."

I frowned, twisting my body as much as I could without hurting myself to look around. I never expected it to, but there was still that small twinge of disappointment when I didn't recognize the room we were in. It was unreasonably dim unless I overdid it with the shadowbending, and I did not have the energy required to do something like that. So, instead of attempting to lighten up the entire room at once, I moved the pinpoint of light from my finger to the outside of the glass, or whatever it was. It would take longer for us to be able to see everything with such a small lamp, but something told me that we had time to kill.

The feeling of Zuko's eyes bore into me as I moved the compact light along the wall, trying to get an idea of exactly where we were. It glinted against the smooth, seaglass-like surface of our prison cells, flashing in my eyes and leaving painted imprints on my vision. I ignored it and readjusted, moving on.

"This is all my fault," came the prince's irritated voice suddenly. He sounded put out despite the fact that his tone was soft. I turned back toward him questioningly, taking note of how he was deliberately looking off to the side. I found, though, that I didn't particularly feel the need to ask why. I simply decided that if he wanted to tell me why he thought something so ridiculous, then he would do it himself. Of course, as usual, that didn't stop me from disagreeing with him.

"Shut up."

No, nothing would ever stop me from disagreeing with him. I smiled.

Zuko gave me an annoyed glare, then sighed.

"When you were unconscious and I ran into Azula in town," he started, voice grave. I nodded in recognition at the memory. How could I forget that? "There was a little girl who got caught up in the middle of it . . . I thought since . . ." Zuko's voice trailed off into nothing as he began to speak more to himself than to me. I soon realized what he was getting at, or_ thought _I did.

"So Azula . . ." I paused, considering how to phrase it. ". . . took her out . . . ?" The prince looked up in surprise, his face clearly telling me that she had done nothing of the sort. Well, what was he implying, then?

"No," Zuko clarified, "She has Alea with her; a hostage." _Hostage._ That simple word seemed to make us both inclined to look at each other, then quickly up at the ceiling like nothing had happened.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked, telling him, in other words, that I was clean out of useful ideas. Zuko stared off to the side for a moment before answering.

". . . I don't know." He seemed more painfully reluctant to admit that fact than I was. "I've tried everything to get out of here, but nothing has worked. It's foolproof." Foolproof, eh? Well, good thing I wasn't one of those.

"But," I offered, grinning, finally finding it in me to stand up - if you could call it that - shaky knees and all. "Is it Kaida-proof?" Alright, so that one earned a probably-deserved, dull glare from Zuko.

"You're going to do something stupid," he stated, not as a question, but as a cold, hard fact. I pouted. He knew me better than I thought.

"Just try and work with me for once," I suggested, dropping back to my knees as close to his side of the cell as I could get with the glass dividing it. The prince stared at me for a long time, his eyes moving from left to right and back again ever so slightly, before he finally sighed.

"Alright, fine."

I grinned in triumph. Perfect. Now we just had to _come up with _a plan. That would probably take a little more time.

"So, you say there are absolutely no openings, right?" I inquired hopefully. It could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what we did about it.

"None," Zuko confirmed.

"Good," I smiled to myself. The prince did the opposite.

"Good?" His expression questioned my consciousness, yet again.

"Yes," I assured him. "Because when they bring the food, they'll have to come through a clear opening, right?" The prince gave me a funny look, which I countered with my own silent 'what?'

"You think they're going to feed us?" he inquired dully, as if the idea had never been a probable option for him. I frowned, knowing he was probably justified in his negativity. Way to kill my dreams, sparky.

"Do you have a better idea, your royal moodiness?" I questioned, crossing my arms for affect.

"We wouldn't be in here if I did."

His response surprised me to some extent. Any normal person would have at least attempted to make something up to retain their dignity. I supposed Zuko and I were similar in that way, though.

It was hard to imagine why fate, or whatever Iroh always went on about, had brought us together. Sure, I had been impressed with him from the very beginning, despite anything I might have said. No one else had ever been able to put up with my attitude and still try and help me in the end. I would never tell the prince, but I had long since gotten over my thinking of him as simply a tool to get what little family I had left back. But, despite all that, anyone sane was capable of recognizing that you didn't fight fire with fire. Likewise, you didn't put two fiery-headed teenagers within the same mile radius and expect them not to strangle each other.

I remembered our countless attempts at training together and how a good third of them had ended in Iroh having to pull apart one of our little cat fights. We were the perfect contrasts, yet so similar that the uncanny connection was next to impossible to ignore. And, despite all of our arguments, we had somehow managed to pull it together and cooperate willingly at times when we needed it the most. But the question was, was all that last-minute 'getting along' just another survival instinct, or . . . I looked away, internally scolding myself for overthinking everything.

We would definitely be going with instincts on this one.

"What's with that expression?" Zuko asked, completely, blissfully unaware of the inner workings of my mind. And a good thing, too. The clueless ones were the easiest to work with.

"What expression?" I retorted, playing dumb.

". . . nevermind," he replied after a caught minute, deciding to leave it alone. I shrugged, turning back toward the unresponsive door. He wasn't getting anything out of me, that was for sure. I couldn't even get it out of myself, if that made any of sense. It was the sort of thing that needed to just be left alone.

"I guess we'll just have to wait it out, then?" I figured quietly after a minute. What else could we do, after all? There were zip amount of openings in our holding cells and Zuko seemed fairly convinced that his sister wasn't going to be bothered to feed us. The fire prince said nothing, but narrowed his eyes. They always seemed to betray him and anything he might have been thinking. No matter how tough he wanted to play it, his eyes were the most vocal part of him. He felt guilty . . .

"Yeah . . ."

There was no other way. We needed a miracle if we hoped to get out. Good thing I had relied on those my whole life. What could possibly stop another from keeping my sorry butt alive?

"Hey, Zuko?"

"Mmmm."

"Are we friends?"

". . ."

My back stiffened, worried, as the empty seconds ticked by. _Nice going, stupid_. Maybe I _wasn't _fully conscious yet . . .

"Yeah. I think we are."

Satisfied, I nodded, getting comfortable by pressing my back into the glass that separated me from my distasteful friend. Npw, we wait for our miracle.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

Kaida and Zuko, I decided, were selectively deaf.

They seemed to consider it completely acceptable to break the rules and go wandering off by themselves, despite how many times I had deliberately warned them not to. Frankly, I was suspicious of my nephew and Kaida's behavior just before they departed - anyone in their right mind would be - and I had the sneaking suspicion that the two of them were going to cause unnecessary problems by leaving the house without an escort. And my gut feelings had yet to be proven wrong in life.

Regardless of whatever I may have told Kaida earlier, I knew how the inner workings of Ba Sing Se were, and I had a feeling that things had only gotten worse here since my last visit to the impenitrable city. The people who lived there, whether they realized it or not, were heavily under the influence of the city's government. We had only been there for a couple of hours, and I was already starting to pick up on the distinctive, overbearing control that characterized the entire nation. Joo Dee had not found us by mere coincidence; nor had she offered us a place to stay out of the goodness of her heart. That much, I was sure of.

_I suppose I'd better see what's taking them so long._

Pushing through the doorway, I could already feel that we were not going to be stationary for much longer.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Go Iroh! Whoot, whoot! Hehe, Read&Review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hiya pplz. Since I've had a couple confused readers, I'm going to explain Alea really quickly in this author's note. If you remember, she's the little girl that Zuko got into quite a bit of trouble with back in the last village when Kaida was passed out. It was the super long chapter that involved Azula chasing the two of them around a theater, yeah? Also, because I'm such a nerd, Blackout's theme song is The Walk by Imogen Heap. For some reason, it just reminds me of Blackout.**

**Disclaimer: That's for me to know, and for you to find out.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_I suppose I'd better see what's taking them so long._

_Pushing through the doorway, I could already feel that we were not going to be stationary for much longer._

**MY COLORING BOOK IS TAKEN**

_I don't want to feel like this,  
so that makes it all your fault.  
-Imogen Heap_

The floor was running out of room, I realized with a huff of disappointment.

Over the past what had to have been at least seven hours, I had uselessly occupied myself with scratching random words and pictures into the bottom of my cell with Zuko's dagger. I'm sure they all accounted for something, somehow, somewhere, but, to be honest, I was more worried about what Azula's reaction would be to my turning her perfectly good holding cell into an oversized coloring book.

I could have slept the entire seven hours - heck, that was what Zuko was doing - but I seemed to have developed a mental bar over the past week or so that prevented me from sleeping very much at all. In fact, I was fairly certain that lack of rest had me looking like the world's biggest raccoon, but it was impossible. No matter how long I lay there doing absolutely nothing, my mind blatantly refused to cross over that invisible line into unconsciousness. Being knocked out, kidnapped and given a concussion had accounted for the best nap I'd had in a very long time.

I frowned. That was depressing.

Well, at least I wasn't tired anymore.

The door of our chamber clicked open suddenly, slowly falling open as if nothing but the wind had done it. I stared. After two or three minutes, I was almost ready to believe that it had, but I just couldn't convince myself that a draft could have done that. My ears pricked, but there was absolutely no sound. I peered critically at the rectangle of blinding light where the door had swung open, waiting almost expectantly for someone either to walk through or close it again. So, when neither occurred, my mind started to run ahead of logic and reason.

Much to my irritation, my heartbeat heated slowly, and the rest of my body followed quickly after. I cautiously worked myself onto my knees, cringing every time I heard myself scrape the floor enough to make a sound. My mind started to hear things in the room that weren't there, misinterpreting my own nervous fidgeting for something else and putting me even more on edge. The room did not change. There was still no one there.

I told myself, forcefully relaxing my tense muscles, that I was being paranoid. And even if, by some slim chance, someone _did _sneak into the holding room, it would be to rescue us.

_Right, _agreed the small voice of reason in the back of my mind. Besides, I wasn't scared of any-

"Hey-!"

My arms were forced to my sides and I was pulled up and forward faster than I would have thought possible. No one gave me a concussion this time, but there was a dry wad of cloth shoved into my mouth, making it impossible for me to call out to anyone regardless. I had no idea that we were out of the holding room until I heard a _click _identical to when the door had first slid open. A soft chafing told me that they had thrown something over my head as well. Beneath me, the ground flew away swiftly and I struggled to move fast enough to walk on my own. We turned a sharp corner and my mind instantly started trying to keep track. Left, right, right. Boy, if there was ever a time to be the girl with no sense of direction . . .

My secret abductors kept a tight grip on my arms; so tight, in fact, that my fingers started to prick and go numb. There was a loud scraping sound coming from the ground and I was yanked back. A pair of hands pushed me down and my tailbone hit the solid surface of a chair. The hold on my wrists was replaced by ties and I could feel suffocating waves of heat crashing into me from the front.

In other words, I was trapped.

The cover was snatched from it's place over my head, tearing out a good chunk of my hair in the process. A sharp, artificial light hammered my eyes, making my head throb slightly again. I squinted through it, pulling back in annoyance. After a few seconds, the green imprint on my eyes started to fade, making it almost too clear what was going on. Frankly, those men had _not _been there to rescue me; not by a longshot.

"Tch," Azula sneered down at me. "So, _you're_ the little forest rat my brother's been following around, huh?"

I clenched my jaw, staring into the fire princess' amber eyes; those eyes that belonged to Zuko, yet that weren't anything like them. They burned with something verging on insanity that both alarmed and disturbed me. Something about this girl was like a ticking time bomb, and it made me uneasy.

"What," she cooed menacingly. "Not going to answer?"

The sensible, logic-driven part of my mind was responding with 'Absolutely not' - that saying anything would put me at the top of the world's "Biggest Complete Morons" list - but, unfortunately, my logical side was a sorry, little wimp that often got beat up by my less logical side; the side that wanted to slap sparky's sister into next week.

"I'll answer whenever I feel like it."

The side that needed some anger management courses.

Azula frowned in irritation, as if I were annoying her by being able to speak, then smirked suddenly, stepping closer. Without warning, she strode purposefully past me so that I couldn't see where she had gone. What gave the firebender away, though, was the almost uncomfortably searing air coming off of her body, especially when she stooped over right behind me, leaning in threateningly.

"I know you're up to something," Azula informed me evenly. "And I know Zuko is involved in it as well." I stuck my nose in the air stubbornly.

"Do you?" I inquired, sarcastically faking surprise. The fire brat let out a feral growl, coming back around to my frontside, considerably more forcefully than before.

"You're going to tell me what you and my idiot brother are trying to do," Azula demanded. It seemed to me that she was just as irritatingly impatient as Zuko. Well, then she should be just as easy to annoy.

"And just how do you plan to go about making me do that?" I responded dully, letting an eyebrow slide up in question. The princess' face twisted into something of a slightly crazed grin. Palm face up, she willed a cobalt-tinted flame to spring up dangerously close to my face. I cringed away instinctively.

Fire. Spirits, I_ hated _fire.

"How's this for persuasion?" Azula snapped, the runaway licks of her flame stinging the side of my face. I leaned still farther away, my eyes daring, just _daring_ her to bring it any closer than it already was. Ohhh, if I wasn't tied up . . .

Still, I considered, there _was_ a way that I might be able to avoid getting burned.

I kicked my unbound leg out in an attempt to send Azula off her feet, simultaneously bending the lights off. Streaks of light from her fire swept dangerously close to my face as she dodged my badly placed kick. The back of my chair hit the stone wall behind me; a good thing, too, or I would have fallen over and into an even more undignified position than I was already in.

The once-minuscule flame in Azula's palm exploded, filling the room with an enraged cobalt-tinted light. The heat rose to the point that I was sure the entire ceiling would melt all over us. Sweat began to condensate on my forehead as I leaned as far away from the princess and her bending as possible.

Azula, as if sensing my reluctance to get any closer to her than was absolutely necessary, began to walk forward, along with the searing heat that seemed to be radiating off of her entire body. Her usually observant eyes had become wild and terrifying, and I was beginning to see exactly _why _this girl was the heir to the fire nation throne. Although she was younger than me - and Zuko too, for that matter - she was one of the most frightening people I'd met in my entire life.

Azula was ruthless; heartless to the point that she was just teetering on the edge of insanity. But, at the same time, she was a child prodigy like no one had seen before, and, in the fire nation, that was the requirement for the perfect ruler.

Despite leaning as far back as the wobbly chair would allow, I didn't take my loathing gaze off of Azula for an instant. She walked toward me with that crazed look in her eyes, and I knew I was toast. It was the scene out of a horror book, and I was about to become the main character; the one who dies at the end.

_Wait, what?_

What on Earth was I saying? That I was just going to give up - right there and then - and let some mad sister the fire prince do the honor of exterminating me? Ha, yeah right! I would find a way out of this if it was the last thing I did. There had to be something . . .

My eyes scanned the ground frantically. I had already tried tripping Azula, but she was just too fast, and her firebending . . . well, I didn't have the slightest idea. Zuko, with his fire, was able to do nothing to break through my shadows, so why could she? The only explanation that my mind could offer was that her bending was so strong that it overpowered mine. And I couldn't honestly say that I liked the sound of that. Of all the random firebenders that I'd encountered traveling the three 'safe' nations, none of them had ever been able to produce a flame while under the influence of my shadowbending.

This is what I like to call a problem.

And all the speed-thinking and unspoken curses in the world didn't stop Azula from getting ever closer to where I sat. Finally tearing my eyes from the fire princess, I chanced one final glance around the room. Where had those guards gone? They had been right at the door only moments earlier, I could have sworn it . . .

The dizzying heat was burning my skin, now, making my head hurt. Perhaps I had some kind of natural opposition to fire. But, then again, when two-hundred degrees was two feet from someone's face, a headache was probably the most normal reaction. Soon, my desperate attempt to think my way out of dying became nothing more than a useless blur of my thoughts; a silent plea that some kind of miracle would occur.

As if my wordless prayers had been answered, a fire nation guard burst through the door, looking and sounding like he had just sprinted ten miles to get there. A slightly strange-sounding voice filtered through the crimson-stained helmet he wore as he spoke to Azula through gasps.

"Princess," he panted, doing his best to stay formal and still remain conscious. "Someone has broken into wing S and knocked out all the guards there. They seem to be heading toward the main control room."

Instantly, Azula's mass of fire shrank down to nothing more than a candle flame on her fingertips. She stared at the guard, and I almost felt sorry for whoever he was.

"Who?" she asked simply, not bothering to elaborate any further. The soldier swallowed loudly.

"General Iroh, Princess," he responded, his voice considerably more shaky than when he first spoke. I shook my head. Even her own men were terrified that she might kill them if they said the wrong thing.

Azula growled, finally turning from me and marching toward the door. Her fists became engulfed in a white hot flame. She turned just before exiting the room, glancing quickly at the guard.

"Take the rat back to her cell," she barked, and with that, Azula was gone.

The guard turned back to me, no doubt completely dumbfounded beneath the shield of his helmet. I eyed him warily, making it very clear that he was not someone I trusted. Anybody working for Azula was no one I was about to be kind to. Despite my supposed-to-be intimidating glares, though, the guard seemed to have no caution in approaching me. In fact, before I knew it, he had untied me from the interrogation chair and was helping me up in a much more gentlemanly fashion than I would have thought a fire nation soldier capable of.

"Come with me, Kaida," he instructed, even going so far as to hold the door open for me to walk through. He had a strange voice, I noted; comforting, to be sure, yet there was something oddly deceitful about it.

The guard led me through the back-and-forth hallways in, hopefully, the same pattern as before, because I had long since forgotten the sequence that I had been attempting to memorize on top of being blindfolded. The sight of our door confirmed that suspicion. I was right back where I'd started, and I wasn't sure if I was irritated or simply relieved by that fact.

Vaguely, I considered trying to turn the tables on my possibly-unsuspecting escort, but even if I managed to get away from him, I had no idea where to go from there. This place was a maze in and of itself. And, regardless, I couldn't very well leave Zuko there, anyway. Who knew if the guard had the key to his cell, too, or just mine? No, it was too risky.

Reluctantly, I started for my own cell, waiting resignedly for the guard to force me back into it. So, I was even more hopelessly confused when he didn't spare me, or my cell for that matter, a second glance. Suddenly, my subconscious seemed to pipe up out of nowhere, bringing up a crucial point that I had somehow managed to miss the first time.

"Wait . . . how do you know my name?" I demanded, abruptly very suspicious of this supposed fire nation guard. There was something missing here - there had to be; something that I was just not piecing together right.

Continuing to ignore me - not to mention irritate me - the guard produced a technological-looking card, sliding it hastily through a scanner on the wall. The flashing light on the device that I had noticed a little while earlier, before the interrogation, ceased it's blinking. At once, Zuko's cell was left wide open, and not even a sound was made in the process. The prince stayed fast asleep.

I gawked openly at the guard, watching him put the sliver of a card back into his uniform without a word. Finally, he took notice of my incredulous staring, turning it back on me for just a half second before he removed his helmet. I gaped as the familiar face smirked at my probably-ridiculous expression.

"Well . . ." he chuckled softly upon closer examination of the extent of my injuries. "You're just a mess these days, aren't you, Kaida?"

Nope, I tried, but my mouth still refused to shut.

"I-Iroh?"


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Howdy! (Oh, yeah. I just went San Antonio on you all.) I'm having a major, depressing writer's block at the moment. *sad face* You should all comment to iNsPiRe me!**

**Disclaimer: No. Just . . . no.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**RISE AND SHINE**

_"She had fire in her soul; it was easy to see."  
-Nickelback_

"Oi!"

Something hit me in the side with so much force that it almost felt like-

"Good morning, sunshine! Time to wake up!"

Kaida.

And she was currently yelling something directly into my ear at the top of her lungs about 'sleeping at a time like this.' What time was it, anyway? I could have sworn-

"What?"

I bolted upright, managing to knock Kaida's forehead against my own on the way up. There was a painful crack as the shadowbender fell backward on to the ground beside me, rubbing her head in offense.

"Ow!" she yipped, moving a safe distance back. Well, it served her right for choosing physical abuse as a tactic for waking me up. Maybe it would teach her not to wake a sleeping firebender ever again. My eyes slowly started to adjust to the unnaturally dim lighting of the room, which, as if to disorient me even more, didn't correspond with the actual light outside. I rubbed my head as well, looking at the shadowbender.

"How did you get in here?" I asked immediately, wafting through my foggy afterthoughts. My mind was apparently still asleep, making thinking a considerably slower process than I would have liked. Kaida rolled her eyes, shaking her head and jumping back onto her feet.

"You might want to ask him," she responded, tossing a thumb over her shoulder. I leaned over to peer around Kaida's legs, only just noticing that someone was with her. I shoved myself up onto my feet as well, fighting down a smirk.

"Uncle."

The old man grinned, motioning us quickly through the door. He turned a sharp left, moving as swiftly as possible while also attempting to get us through the narrow passageways relatively unnoticed.

"We have to hurry," Uncle informed us in a hurried tone of voice as we ran. "I've mapped out the quickest way back to the main square in the center of Ba Sing Se. Once we are back in the open, we will have to get out of the city as quickly as possible before Azula realizes what's happened."

Kaida and I sprinted alongside each other, following his spoken directions on which way to turn.

"But where do we go from there?" Kaida asked, huffing in between words to keep her breath.

"I already have a ship ready and waiting for us in the coastal village just outside the city," Uncle responded seamlessly. "Left."

We swerved to the left, listening as the faint sound of a busy city street began to grow louder and closer. As close to the surface as we were, we would have no problem making it to that ship in time, but something just would not quit gnawing at my memory. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was forgetting something . . .

"Alea!" I remembered suddenly, jerking to a halt. The duo on either side of me halted, each offering a different reaction to my one-word realization; Uncle gave me a look of confusion and bewilderment, while Kaida's eyebrows puckered in understanding. I turned toward Uncle first, giving him the shortest possible explanation on Alea.

"Azula has a little girl hostage. We can't just leave her here."

He gave me an extremely reluctant look, glancing up toward the ceiling where, just a few yards up, our freedom was waiting impatiently for us to get there and take it. I stared back, hoping to convey the urgency of what I was telling him. His face was torn with indecision as he searched my eyes for something I wasn't quite sure of.

"Please," I sighed, trying to sound calm or sure of myself. "It's my fault she's here." We could _not_ leave Alea there. It wasn't an option. Finally, Uncle turned a one-eighty wearily, coming to stand behind me.

"Lead the way," he said in a resigned voice. I nodded seriously; we didn't have much time.

"Come on."

All three of us took off in a run in the complete opposite direction from where anyone really wanted to go. It was like we were fighting the same side of the magnet, running back into Azula's death trap of a hideout.

"Do you know where you're going?" Kaida asked worriedly, pushing her legs to come run beside me. Her short hair whipped back like we were running through a wind tunnel.

"This place is built like one of my father's prison buildings," I informed her, carefully avoiding the actual question. "I went there a few times as a kid. If it's anything similar to the ones in the fire nation, then Alea should be in the northeast wing."

Kaida scrunched her eyebrows and gave me a look that clearly said 'How did you know that?' Her moss eyes looked troubled, but I wasn't sure whether it was because my father took me to prison houses as a child, or because I remembered it clearly enough that I knew where everything was.

"Right."

We banked right, running headlong into our first hurdle.

"Hey, stop right there!" yelled a masked fire nation guard, both he and his partner bending a line of fire across the expanse of the hallway behind them.

Kaida and I acted simultaneously, landing two perfectly aimed kicks on the unsuspecting guards, although . . . Kaida must have been in a bad mood, because her's was considerably more aggressive. I figured she had probably just about had it with firebenders by that point. The two men hadn't the slightest idea what had hit them, and, before they had a chance to find that out, we had jumped over their bar of fire and were gone.

"That was easy," Kaida commented while we ran, sounding vaguely surprised at that fact. I was about to agree with her when Uncle spoke up.

"Don't get too cocky," he warned. "Those were just the footmen. Azula would never leave two incapable soldiers, especially when she knows we'll be coming."

"You think she knows we're going after Alea?" I asked, gritting my teeth as I threw him an over-the-shoulder glance.

"I think she knows that _someone_ will try and rescue her," he elaborated. "She just doesn't know who."

"Let's keep it that way, then," Kaida answered him stubbornly, forcing out a strained, but confident smile.

"Left."

I skidded to a halt, followed in suit by Uncle and Kaida.

"That was fast," Kaida breathed, her eyes taking in the cold, damp chamber we had just stumbled into. The only light came from the tip of her pinky, which, I just noticed, she had left glowing the entire almost-escape. The shadowbender strengthened the small point, bringing the cell room to life. Water dripped off the ceiling, accumulating in stale puddles all over the floor. She looked at me, and I nodded. This was the place.

"Children's' holding rooms."

The same troubled look filled Kaida's eyes once again, but she walked off and began checking cells before I got the chance to say or do anything. One by one, we peered into each and every one of the too-small rooms, and, with each and every one that was empty, I began to doubt whether or not we would be able to save Alea. Before long, our break in would be reported to Azula in the main control room, and once that happened there would be no other option but to get out. Kaida fingered the bars of the last cell, frowning as she peered into the dark, empty corner.

"She's not here," she confirmed, trailing the floor with her eyes.

What was she so irritated about? I could never tell what was going on in Kaida's mind. For all I knew, she might not have even been upset; just thinking deeply about something.

"Looking for something?"

The thoughtful expression left Kaida's features. She whipped around, producing my dagger out of nowhere and sending it splitting the air between her and my sister. The scene went almost in slow motion. The blade slid seamlessly out of her hold, flung straight at Azula's insane grin.

Or, so it would have been.

If she hadn't been holding Alea there.

But the dagger was already out of her grip; set in motion. Kaida's eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. But, before Azula could do anything - or not do anything - a jet of flames knocked the blade off course, embedding it in the back wall only centimeters from Alea's head. Azula's smirk faltered, turning into something of a grimace. Meanwhile, Kaida's glare turned into a dangerous smile.

"Brace yourselves," she said simply, and, for once, I knew what was coming before it did.

Darkness poured in from all directions, and I was at my sister's throat before even ten seconds had gone by. There was a mad scramble all around, and, before I knew it, Alea was nowhere to be found amongst the flares of red and blue fire. The embers illuminated some of our features as I blocked in between jabs at Azula. It was a scene of pure confusion and chaos, and the fire made it even more apocalyptic. I still wasn't sure where we were, but, if we hadn't already caught the place on fire, then we were about to. Soon, Uncle had located the two of us and was helping me fend her off. Two against one; she'd have to give in at some point.

"Zuko," Uncle said urgently, as we sidestepped a particularly heated stream of flames. "I want you to go with Kaida, now. She has Alea with her already."

"What?" I growled. "No! I'm not-"

"I'm serious, Zuko!" he roared in the rare act of raising his voice, and I couldn't deny the fact that I had never seen Uncle as serious as he was right then. "I will handle Azula. Take the girl and go. Now!"

I could feel the hesitation making my movements choppy, but did as he said and fought my way back out into the hallway. Sure enough, Kaida was standing just outside the chamber, one hand holding a bright spark, the other getting its circulation cut off by Alea's fingers. One look at the little girl's mortified expression, and I knew we had to get out of there. I scooped Alea up, pulling her onto my shoulders and starting to run, all in one fluid motion. Kaida ran alongside me, eyes narrowed and focused.

"Where's Iroh?" she asked in an instant reaction. My gaze stayed forward.

"Back there with Azula," I answered, careful to keep anything out of my voice that could set off how worried about him I actually was. "He told me to get out with you and Alea."

Again, with that stupid expression. Why did she keep doing that? The look on her face, though, suddenly changed to one of absolute shock.

"Look out!" she yelled, pulling out my dagger - which she must have yanked from the wall on her way out of the cell room - jumping behind me and slicing something that must have been on a straight trajectory for either mine or Alea's head. Men clad in dark green armor suddenly filled the narrow passageway both in front and behind us. Instantly, I recognized their uniforms.

"Dai Li," I muttered.

"Who?" Kaida asked, eyeing them like they were about to do something insane.

"Azula's hired bodyguards," I added, for her sake. This wasn't looking good . . .

Without speaking - and I got the impression that these men never spoke - the Dai Li pulled circular sections of earth out of the walls, launching the razor sharp discs in at us from all directions. That wasn't the worst part, though. No, the scary thing about it was how precisely in-sync the earthbenders were; how they turned the attack into a perfectly calculated strategy. What bending I could produce, along with Kaida's rather questionable dagger-handling skills, somehow managed to take down that first round of discs hurled in our direction.

And I wasn't about to stick around for the second.

"Hold on, Alea," I instructed, feeling her arms tighten instinctively around my neck. "Ka-"

"I know," Kaida replied before I had her name out of my mouth, pretending to be annoyed with me. Pretending, I could tell, because of the smirk, which could be seen, not on her face, but in her eyes. I nodded, the corner of my mouth twitching slightly.

Once again, when the light left my eyes, I was ready and waiting for it, using bending to force my way through the line of men in front of me. The line broke through, leaving Kaida and I with just enough time to slip past and pick up running again. As we hurled down the hopefully empty hallway, the dark started to fade, bringing the walls - streaking indefinitely past us - back into view. Kaida pushed my shoulder lightly.

"You didn't tell me she had ninjas!" she yelled, and it was impossible not to roll my eyes at her sarcasm in the middle of a life-threatening situation. _Only Kaida . . . _Her eyes suddenly popped, zeroing in on the low exit doorway as she screamed.

"Duck!"

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

We burst through the far-from-sturdy door and into the last place anyone would have expected.

All eyes were on us, although I suppose that made sense. It wasn't every day that a shadowbender and the fire prince with a five year old on his shoulders came bursting through the supposedly-locked back door of your local tea shop. That, on top of the fact that we were filthy, bloody and beat up . . . well, I had definitely seen less-strange things in my lifetime.

Nobody said a word, several people gaped, and I could practically hear the little cogs in the minds of everyone in the room just not quite fitting together. I stared, wide-eyed, into the deathly silent crowd, slowly turned my gaze to look into Zuko's mortified expression, then turned them slowly back.

"Maybe if we just walk away slowly, they'll forget everything," I whispered. Tactical.

Zuko let out a small breath, clearly not finding my suggestion at all amusing. Behind us, the broken and scattered pieces of the door we had just obliterated lay skewed across the once-clean floor. Cautiously, I took Zuko's arm, pulling him slowly alongside me through the empty isle in between the two groups of tables. It still felt as if no one was breathing as we stepped guardedly through the open front entrance, clicking the door shut behind us on the way out.

We looked at each other wordlessly for a moment.

"Ten minutes."

"Huh?" I asked, squinting up at the fire prince; not an easy thing to do with the sun right behind his head, blinding me.

"We probably have ten minutes before the Ba Sing Se security force gets here," he explained, looking up at the girl, Alea.

"What do we do?" I frowned.

Chances were that the house Joo Dee had given us was already swarmed with fire nation guards. Getting back in there would be no easy task, and it would take up a heck of a lot of time; time that we needed. I could see the internal debate going on in Zuko's russet eyes, weighing in whether or not going back for our belongings would be worth it. Finally, his expression solidified.

"We have to leave the city."

I nodded. One question answered. But, then, that brought us to our next major problem.

"And what about her?"

One had to wonder what all happened between Zuko and the chocolate-eyed girl with a death grip on his neck. She obviously trusted him. The entire wait out in the hallway by the holding cells, she had done nothing but cling to my wrist and ask when 'Prince Zuko' was going to help us get out.

Zuko fell into thought once more, Alea burying her face into his hair. If we weren't about to die, I might have laughed at him for it. It was too bad his sister never acted like that . . .

The prince looked up, suddenly in a hurry.

"I have an idea," he said, turning on the spot and walking up to a completely random stranger standing beside the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. It was only after I read the sign nailed to the building he was leaning on, that I realized what Zuko's plan was.

"Hello, there," the stranger said, noticing our hasty approach. He casually flicked aside the toothpick that had been protruding from his mouth. "You need an escort?"


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Iiti em hotep! Hey, I'm getting faster at this updating thing! (I blame the end of the school year for that)**

**Disclaimer: I own Alea, but not ATLA.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**THE PROBLEM WITH PYROMANIACS**

_"What would it take for things to be quiet; quiet like the snow?"  
-Devil Wears Prada_

It took a lot longer than ten minutes, but Zuko and the salesman eventually struck up a deal to get Alea back to her village safely. My mind had been far too preoccupied to be sure, but I was almost positive that there had been some threatening involved on the princes' side of the negotiation. I supposed it was necessary, though, especially considering our obvious lack of money.

Not to mention the fact that we looked like homeless masochists.

Alea had looked close to crying as she and her escort got ready to leave, nearly suffocating poor Zuko in a hug and making him promise to come and visit her. Personally, I thought the whole thing was extremely amusing. Finally - after way too long a time than was safe for us - Alea was out of the city and on her way back to her home.

"One down, three to go," I muttered, watching the cart pull away in the opposing direction. Where was Iroh? "Hey, how do we get out of here, anyway? 'Cause I'm not about to go back the way we came." Zuko cringed, as if the memory was offensive.

"I don't know," he replied gravely.

"Ohh, no," I groaned, pressing both palms to my forehead. "We'll have to ask for directions."

Zuko rolled his eyes at the irony at what I had just said, walking in step with me. I grimaced, growing more and more irritated by the second. We were going too slowly. Why weren't we hurrying? My hands clenched and unclenched, doing absolutely nothing to ease the pent-up tension in my chest. Finally, I couldn't stop myself.

"Can't we go any faster?" I demanded in a harsh whisper, leaning forward to look up at him out of the corner of my eyes. Then, Zuko did the strangest thing. He took hold of the back of what little outfit I had leftover and pulled me upright again. I gave him an are-you-crazy glare.

"No, we have to walk," he replied, still keeping his eyes forward, instead of looking back down at me. "We already look suspicious."

"Fine," I grumbled, knowing full well that he was right. If we ran around Ba Sing Se like criminals, then we would be found and arrested again in no time. I was already suspicious of this city we were stuck in, and, after what had just happened, I didn't trust anyone there. The fire nation just had too much undetected control. Finally - and just when I thought that we might never make it out - Zuko and I spotted what we had been looking for.

Hanging up over the great wall of Ba Sing Se, a seemingly thin wire was strung from one building inside the city, to another just outside of it. And, going back and forth across the zip line, was a lift. Zuko and I turned to stare at each other, the both of us realizing just what we had found. I grinned, immediately turning back on course and walking just fast enough to get there quicker, but still go unnoticed by anyone around.

The crowd suddenly became dense, making it nearly impossible to go in the direction I wanted. Zuko was still a ways behind me, not bothering to try and keep up. I spun around to look back at him as the crowd encased me from all sides, pushing me up the ramp that led to the lift. He caught my gaze, attempting to shove his way through the copse of people, but it was no use. I had already been forced onto the air-train with the allotted amount of passengers. Zuko would have to catch the next one.

I pressed my lips together, finding a seat resignedly. He was going to be ticked off about this later.

With an internal start, I suddenly realized that it was the first time I'd really been on my own since I'd met the prince. What a strange thing, I realized, especially since I was so used to fending for myself ever since I ran away. Now, with this group of total strangers surrounding me, I felt like being alone was something I had never done before. For once, it seemed as if I had nobody to rely on. And I didn't like that.

It made me uneasy.

The lift began to move, sliding easily through the air and over the colossal wall encircling Ba Sing Se. For a few minutes, I simply looked out the window over the landscape. Being a city relatively close to the ocean, there weren't many trees outside the urban center, and the distinct smell of sea salt blew in the breeze. From so high up, I could see the coastal, hinterland village that Iroh had been telling me about earlier.

Spirits, where was that man? I knew exactly what had to have been going through Zuko's mind on that particular subject, so I had tried to hide my anxiety for his sake while we were getting away. Now, though, alone with no familiar faces to think about, the worry couldn't have been clearer on my features.

Iroh had told me the bare minimum just before I dragged Alea into the hallway. All he had given me was a name, Yuumi, and the strictest orders to get onto the ship and leave if he didn't make it back onto it within two and a half hours. I wasn't sure what he'd told Zuko, but I had the sneaking suspicion that his brash nephew had not been given these orders. Zuko never would have left his uncle's side if he had, and Iroh had known it.

A chill ran up and down my spine, like somebody's cold fingers on my neck. My posture stiffened as I pulled my arms to my side, peering out of the furthest corners of my eyes. No one was looking at me, but something was wrong. I could feel it . . .

My head snapped toward the back of the lift, completely full of people. I jumped up off my seat, shoving my way to the rear window, and making quite a few shouts and curses fly in the process. But I didn't care by that point.

My hands were the only thing that kept me from smacking face-first into the glass pane. My eyes popped, my jaw dropping. The lift behind mine was completely empty save for two people.

And it was on fire.

My sudden revelation, of course, did not go unnoticed by the other passengers around me. And once one started screaming, so did all the rest. I cringed at the high-pitched noise in irritation, attempting, in vein, to think through it. If they would just shut up for a second . . .

"Quiet!" I screamed, my voice cutting through the terrified chorus of yelling and crying. The crowd sobered up at once, staring at me with a consistently mutinous expression. I gulped, the glares of the group physically forcing my feet back. There had to be a way to get that idiot out of there. Ugh, could we run into any more problems in one day? Was that even possible? My mind wanted to tell me no, but all valid signs of logic and reason were pointing toward yes.

I looked back out the window and away from the leering passengers, hoping to clear my mind, or perhaps spark some kind of useful rescue idea. I instantly regretted the move.

Never again would the world see the banished prince of the fire nation on top of an air-train, in clothes tattered to the point of being obscene, fighting an earthbender while the floor he stood on slowly erupted into flames.

Never again.

And I, being the only person in my entire lift who wasn't about to faint, did the only thing left to do:

I climbed onto the roof and began yelling at the fire prince.

"You idiot!" I practically screamed, causing both benders to momentarily lose their focus, "I told you to hurry up, but no!"

Despite being at least fifty feet off, it was hard to miss the glare on Zuko's part. Down below me, I could hear several passengers shouting for me to get off the hood of the lift. Ignoring them, I looked out toward the end of the zip line, letting out a sigh of relief. There couldn't have been more than a minute or two left before we were back on solid ground. I could only pray that no one stopped the lift before we actually got there, realizing that there was now a total of three people where they definitely should not have been.

"Okay, we can do this," I breathed, mostly to myself. "Just as long as Zuko doesn't do anything stu-sparky, what are you doing!"

Zuko's fingers were turning red, from the looks of it, as he clung to the zip line for dear life, slowly making his way closer to my lift. The earthbender behind him - one of Azula's 'hired bodyguards' - looked on with an amusingly miffed expression. Apparently, there was nothing way up there that he was able to bend in an attempt to knock the stupid prince to the ground. I supposed that it was a good thing that _my_ bending wasn't physical, either, or I might have tried to do something similar.

Zuko reached my carrier the very second it hit the earth, pulling me off the roof - much to my irritation - and breaking into a dead run after I so kindly shook his grip off. I huffed as we barreled down the narrow streets of the tiny village outside Ba Sing Se; partially in exhaustion, mostly in annoyance. I seriously doubted that I would ever allow myself to run again after all this was over.

We reached the docks in record time, weaving in and out of the privacy-butchering crowd in search of our ship. It seemed, however, that dear Iroh had neglected to mention to us _which_ ship we were supposed to board, and so now we were running around the boardwalk like complete morons with no idea what to do.

After a few minutes, we finally came across one that looked at least semi-promising. It was a fire navy ship - but, of course - completely steel and, to top it all off, an angry cloud of ash-gray smoke billowing out from the top in suffocating sheets of obsidian. The symbol of the fire nation was painted onto the mountainous side of the vessel in the colors that I hated most - red and orange.

A rather elderly-looking couple stood along the walkway, right where the steel exit ramp let out. They were an exceedingly odd-looking pair, to say the least. It wasn't every day that a seemingly-adorable, little, old man and his equally as innocent-looking wife stood purposely out in front of an ocean-liner belonging to the most violent empire in the world. They didn't talk - not to each other, or anyone else for that matter. They simply stood there, fingers locked together behind their backs, every now and then stopping, staring off to the side or up at the sky, and shifting their weight to the other side. They were waiting for someone, for sure. But, could we really be sure that someone was us?

"I don't recognize their faces," I warned Zuko, who had begun to walk toward the carrier without hesitation. "What if it's not the right one?"

Something flashed behind Zuko's dark gold eyes as he considered my comment; something like bewilderment.

"No . . . I think it is," although he sounded dangerously unsure of it himself. "I can't remember where, but I could have sworn I saw those two with my Uncle a few months ago." I sighed, gazing up at him doubtfully.

"Whatever you say, sparky . . ."

The very second we began to walk toward them, the elderly pair's already suspicious stares snapped right in our direction simultaneously. Zuko and I froze on the spot, staring straight back into their eyes.

"You still want to go talk to the creepy couple, Zuko?" I asked through my teeth, the pitch of my voice escalating.

"No," he replied, but began to move forward again despite his immediate answer.

Apparently, in Zuko's mind, we had to speak to them whether we wanted to or not. I copied reluctantly. As we approached them, the two did not take their eyes off of us for even a second. Their gazes did not waver or vacillate even the slightest bit as they observed our distrustful trek in their direction. The familiar feeling of the steady increase in air pressure closed in on me as I readied myself, and my bending, for whatever might have been about to happen to the both of us.

We stopped in front of them, just along the ledge of the dock that separated land from ocean. I held my breath. The old woman spoke, then.

"Can we help you, dears?"

I blinked, caught off guard. She sounded . . . well, she sounded like my grandmother. I don't know what exactly I had been expecting out of the strange, old woman, but the kind and perfectly normal sound of her voice was not it. I was momentarily taken aback, giving Zuko the opportunity to answer her question.

"We were looking for-"

"Yuumi," I cut in, suddenly remembering the specific name that Iroh had given me. My unexpected outburst earned three different reactions: Zuko looked shocked and slightly irritated with me, while the old man and woman stared at me with different levels of quiet surprise and understanding; neither of which I was very sure about.

"General Iroh sent you, did he?" the old man asked, stealing both mine and Zuko's complete and undivided attention. "The people of this village know me as Mr. Yuumi. This is my wife."

Mr. Yuumi gestured to the frail old woman beside him, who smiled sweetly at us, or so it would seem to anybody happening to pass by our little conversation. Her expression became more serious as she stepped aside to reveal the ramp onto the ship.

"We've been waiting for you."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Aww, sorry to disappoint anyone who wanted Alea to go along, but I already had that part written out when y'all reviewed. Anyhoo, Read&Review!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: **Ollo! (Haha, sorry. I couldn't help myself.) I love this chapter with a passion. 8) Hope you all do, too!

**Disclaimer: **I'm about 99.9 percent sure I don't own ATLA.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_"We've been waiting for you."_

**HOW TO CAMP OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN**

_"I don't think I deserve it.  
Selflessness."  
-Devil Wears Prada_

One thing that I had definitely not counted on was Mrs. Yuumi's life-threatening lack of tea brewing skills.

"I never was as good at it as Iroh was," she told Kaida and I in a sort of apology explanation. The shadowbender stared down into her still-full cup with a wary expression, as if she was waiting for someone else to try their's first so she didn't have to, but smiled at the old woman nonetheless.

She looked a lot better than she had just one short hour earlier. Mr. and Mrs. Yuumi had immediately brought us aboard the ship, showing us to our room - only one room, which I was still not particularly ecstatic about - and helping us clean up. She was in new clothes, now, having thrown out the tattered shards of what was left of her dress, and her hair was still sopping wet from washing her cuts and scrapes out. We looked embarrassingly like medical patients, though, completely covered in wraps and bandages. But I couldn't really complain, seeing as we looked a lot more presentable than we had when we got there.

"That's okay," Kaida answered slyly, leaning back into her seat a little. "Zuko is terrible at it, too. I could drink anything by this point."

I huffed, closing my eyes. Despite being slightly calmer now that we had boarded the ship and were ready to go, I was still far too on edge about my uncle's whereabouts to bother arguing. The violent scenes from the entire afternoon replayed themselves in my head over and over again, refusing to allow me even the tiniest hope of a break. I doubted that it would stop; not until we had left port with Uncle, at the very least.

"Quit worrying, sparky," came Kaida's remark after a minute of speaking with Mrs. Yuumi in the background. I looked over toward where she sat with her arms crossed, my expression guarded. She simply smirked like she always did. "He'll be fine." Somehow, the sincerity in Kaida's eyes was flawed, though. It was like she was trying to convince herself of this fact as well. None of us were completely sure what was happening at the moment, and I was going crazy trying to think of anything but what my sister was capable of doing to a sixty year old man with no one else around to help him.

Finally, unable to sit cooped up in the tea room for a single moment longer, I stood from the table, bowing respectfully and retreating up to the top deck. At least there I could sit on the side of the ship and watch nobody board, instead of imagining it. After all of the chaos, it seemed more than a little strange that the sky should be so clear; that the sun should be shining the way it was. It was a beautiful day out.

And I hated it.

I walked around to the side of the ship facing away from the land. My hat had blown off somewhere during the chase across Ba Sing Se, and I wasn't about to get caught all over again just so that I could be slightly more entertained by my view. My muscles tensed as I slung my legs over the edge of the railing, refusing to allow my body to relax for even one short second.

My head was still reeling - _had _been reeling ever since we boarded – and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make it stop. There was too much going on. How had this all started, anyway? Who could I blame? I tried to pinpoint somebody in particular, but the culprit was not a single person. No, _everyone_ was responsible in some form or another. Azula, Uncle, Kaida . . . and me. There was a time when I would have been far too proud to put the blame on myself, but I could feel that changing as well. I _was _responsible . . .

A seagull flew over the smokestack, carefully arching its path to avoid drifting into the toxic cloud escaping it.

"Missing something, Nephew?"

The voice was unconcerned, as if genuinely curious whether or not I was missing something. I turned, disbelief propelling my legs back over the side of the ship and onto the deck in record time. Uncle, somehow managing to stand right behind me for who-knew-how-long, placed my lost hat on my head, smiling. I shook my head, pulling it off to look up at him in complete shock. A decent amount of crimson was dripping off of his wrist, but he didn't appear to be concerned about it. I was about to demand an explanation when Kaida's unmistakable voice echoed from the stairwell leading up from the floor below.

"Zuko, if you don't quit your moping, I swear I'll-"

She cut off, stepping into the sunlight, her eyes falling on Uncle in sheer disbelief. But the look only lasted a few moments before turning into complete and total outrage.

"General Iroh," she began in a rushed tone of voice, her use of his title making it very clear that she was not happy with him. "How dare you leave me with nothing but two and a half hours and the name of someone I don't even know, while you go off and fight the biggest lunatic on earth, send sparky into a freaking depression and me into absolute confusion because no one has any sliver of an idea what to do, and then come back with that stupid look on your face like-"

"Okay, okay," Uncle intervened, holding his hands up in apology. "I'm sorry, Kaida. I didn't mean to worry you two so much." I raised an eyebrow at this newfound discovery. Apparently, Kaida had been more concerned about my uncle than she had been letting on. The shadowbender crossed her arms, sighing.

"Alright," she replied slowly. "I'll forgive you under one condition."

"And what is that?" Uncle asked curiously, shifting his weight.

"You're replacing Mrs. Yuumi as tea brewer."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

The last chord of Iroh's fire nation folk song rang clear through the cold night air, the flames of the on-deck fire pit making the shadows play across his weathered features dramatically.

I wondered idly if he was messing with the fire intentionally for the purpose of being theatrical, because it seemed almost too mesmerising to be a natural flame. I hugged the thin blanket closer to my body, grinning along with the elderly general and Mr. and Mrs. Yuumi. It was unlawfully cold out in the open, but I was in such an incredibly good mood that it didn't bother me so much. I had always kind of liked the cold, anyway. It cleared my head; helped me think.

Out over the railing, the seawater drifted by like the sound of a hundred people shush-ing us. The city of Ba Sing Se was long out of sight and out of mind, replaced by the wonderful feeling of freedom as we crossed the vast expanse of midnight black water between the earth kingdom and the fire nation. This was calm; this was neutral.

This was a time to let all the stress go.

Iroh fingered the instrument in his hands softly, picking out the notes to a much more soothing song than the lively one he had just graced us with. Yet another surprise from the dragon of the west: he was a fairly decent musician. I got the feeling that there was a whole lot about him that I did not know. An icy wind whipped through my hair, freezing my ears as it passed and making my nose sting a little. I shut my tired eyes, letting the music take me away from that place, and into a world where I could stay forever if I wanted to. Sounds and voices faded gradually into the background of my mind. My head slowly rested onto my knees as I half-consciously listened in on Iroh's conversation with the Yuumis.

". . . went through Hisoka a week or two ago. They were celebrating their annual lantern festival," Iroh conversed lightly over the calming music, his voice drifting through my ears like a lullaby.

"Oh, really?" Mrs. Yuumi inquired her voice equally as soft. They all sounded as if they were talking over a sleeping infant; as if they might disturb someone or something if they spoke any louder. "We ought to go there for the next one, don't you think, dear?" Mr. Yuumi murmured his consent.

My head was filled with the crisp scent of burning wood and Iroh's rhythmic strumming, which swirled around and made me slightly dizzy.

". . . beautiful sight. The paper lanterns and fireworks went on until well past midnight . . .

The moon was strung high above us, illuminating the expanse of the deck with its milky glow. For once in my life, I was completely cut off from the land-bound shadow creatures. For once in my life, I wasn't wandering around at night, trying to set up shadowbent barriers to protect myself or anyone else.

". . . got into a bit of an accident while we were there, though. It was . . ."

My eyes opened with a bit of effort, looking just past the small circle of gossiping old men and women to scan the perimeter of the deck.

". . . had to go out and find her before something happened. She was a pretty mess when Zuko carried her into . . ."

Over on the railing, a lone figure sat watching the blanket of pitch black ocean drift by at its own steady pace. His silhouette was all that could be seen with the reflection of the moon on the surface of the water, eyes trained somewhere on the horizon.

". . . sat in the room for the longest time after . . .

I picked my head up off my knees, standing up a little shakily and pulling the blanket around my shoulders like a travelling cloak. My bare feet shifted on the icy deck, drawing the attention of my quiet circle.

"Going to bed?" Iroh asked with a smile. I huddled into myself, shaking my head no.

"Not yet."

I didn't say anything more, assuming that he knew where I was going already. He had a way of knowing everything like that.

I walked silently up to the railing near the bow of the ship, feeling puddles under my feet where the sea water had splashed up on deck. The wind from the ocean got stronger, tugging at my hair and the material I had wrapped around myself with the scent of sea salt caught in its breeze. Whether he was aware of my approach or not, I wasn't precisely sure, but I lifted my legs over the ledge regardless, sitting next to him. My hands folded neatly in my lap, instinct still trying to lift my body temperature up a couple of degrees, and my feet hung over the side of the ship, feeling strangely vulnerable without something to rest on or hold up.

"You really hate socializing, don't you?" I asked, smiling out at the place where the ocean and the sky should have been separate, but weren't. Zuko's expression seemed to soften, or, at least, that was what it looked like in the dim light. "Why don't you come and sit with the others?"

"Sometimes I need to think," he replied, looking as exhausted as I felt. I turned my head to look straight down into the depths of the seemingly-endless ocean, an interesting thought crossing my mind.

"What is it you think about so hard, then?" I inquired, speaking my thoughts out loud to him. Internal debate raged in his eyes, clearly over whether to answer my question or not. Obviously, the fire prince did not have much experience when it came to 'sharing his feelings.'

"My father," he said shortly after an empty minute, his voice catching. It was difficult to tell whether he sounded angry with himself, or firelord Ozai. Perhaps he was upset with the both of them.

"Daddy issues . . ." I muttered in understanding. That was one thing that I could relate to. My father . . . well, just the thought of that man made my blood boil; made my chest heat up and my teeth lock together.

"Yeah," Zuko replied, turning the word into a bitter sigh. He ran a hand through his dark hair, shoulders hunching forward slightly.

"So that's how you got the . . ." I left the sentence unfinished, fingertip going to my left eye; right where Zuko's scar would be if he copied me. For a second, the prince seemed a bit surprised at what I had managed to piece together, but tore his gaze back out to the sea again.

"I spoke out of turn at a war council," he explained carefully, his gold eyes going distant at the memory. "They were going to send a group of new recruits in as a distraction; sacrifice them."

My eyes widened at this. He had only spoken a total of two sentences, and I was already surprised at the direction his words were taking. Zuko's eyes narrowed into the dark as he continued.

"I was ordered to participate in an Agni Kai-"

"A what, now?"

"A firebending duel," he corrected himself automatically. "With the general that I had spoken out against . . ." The prince looked away distractedly.

"So, what . . . he won?" I ventured, taking a wild guess.

"No," Zuko responded, his voice growing thicker with what I supposed to be emotion. Was it really that embarrassing that he could get so choked up about what had happened?

"He lost . . . ?" I contradicted my previous guess. Zuko looked at me finally, his ember eyes worn out.

"It was my dad."

It took a moment or two for his clarification to make sense to my over-worked mind, but, when it did, a number of things started to piece themselves together in my head, falling steadily into place. He was so bitter about moral things, all the time, and now I understood why. What kind of logic did that give a kid? Do the right thing, and we'll banish you from your only home? Stand up for your people, and we'll give you the permanent mark of a traitor that you'll be forced to wear around for the rest of your life? It was a wonder he wasn't completely corrupt, which must have been what happened to Azula.

"He told me to get up and fight him," the prince continued distantly. He was completely dazed, no doubt needing a decent bed to sleep on for the first time in weeks. "But I . . . I couldn't. I couldn't physically force myself to fight my own father like that."

"So that's why he banished you?" I asked, a sharp hiss escaping from in between my clenched teeth. "Because you wouldn't fight him? That's . . . crazy." The prince smirked a little, as if he found my irritation with his dad's motives amusing.

"He called me weak," Zuko continued, as if this helped make sense of Ozai's actions. "He said that I needed to grow up. He thought that sending me out after the avatar would fix the problem."

"He was wrong . . ." I muttered offhandedly.

"Maybe," Zuko considered, "But I was ready to believe it." Clearly, in the prince's mind, that fact made him just as insane as his father.

"So, that's it," he informed me, frankly not wanting to talk about his past any more. I looked out to the indiscernible skyline again.

"My dad was a firebender, too," I said finally, feeling strangely inclined to reveal a portion of my own history with the prince. He had, after all, bothered to enlighten me. I supposed it just felt like my turn. Zuko didn't say anything in response, but his light ocher eyes slid over to mine, evidence that he was listening.

"He snuck off with one of the fire nation's southern water tribe prisoners; my mom," I continued, fiddling with the small, silver key draped around my collarbone. I hesitated, unsure whether or not to continue. Was I really even at liberty to tell my own story? After all, my own father – despite the fact that he was a lying, cheating, cowardly, little weasel of a man – had not been nearly as cruel to me as Zuko's had been to him. My own sufferings could never measure up to his; not in that department, anyway. I was fairly certain he didn't want to hear about my-

"What happened," Zuko asked, his hoarse voice surprising me. I turned to him quizzically to find that he was watching me, now. Interesting.

"According to my grandmother, there was a raid of their camp out somewhere in the earth kingdom; a group of fire nation officials looking for Asoka – my dad," I explained, hearing Iroh begin a new song out on the deck. "And, well, let's just say he didn't stick around to see everyone get killed."

I looked up at the sky, locating and drawing out the outline of my favorite constellation in my mind. Distractions, distractions . . .

". . . I'm sorry," Zuko said, his voice rough. How silly of him to apologize for something that he didn't to.

"I never knew either of them; my parents," I replied, smiling broadly. "That's why I'm trying to rescue Leila and my grandmother and not going after my dad." Even though I hadn't seen my parents since I was three years old, I couldn't be sad or miss them, because there was nothing there to miss. It would be like trying to mourn at the funeral of someone I never knew; empty, stupid, useless.

Impossible.

Satisfied with our little chat, I kicked my legs back over the railing, jumping down off of the ledge. Zuko made no move to get up, still lost in his own thoughts, I was sure. I began to walk toward the stairwell and down to my – our – room, but paused a few feet away, looking back.

"Oh, and Zuko," I called back. He didn't turn, but I knew he was listening.

"I like your human side."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Kaixo! Yay for an early chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Do. Not. Own.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**I LET HIM WIN**

Kaida's bending style was so dramatically different from the original four elements. While, for instance, earthbending was similar to a series of hits, kicks and blocks, shadowbending was graceful like a dance; hardly allowed to be called an fighting technique at all. And, then, her bending would trigger at odd times. She could go through a whole set of fluid motions and nothing would happen, then, at the tiniest flick of her wrist, my vision would blank out.

In the long run, it made sense that she was a master in hand to hand combat. As useful as shadowbending was, there was only so much Kaida was able to do with it, and that didn't include offensive moves. When it came to a clean-cut fight, it was almost like she didn't have any bending abilities at all. Maybe that was why there weren't any of her kind left, then. Maybe they just hadn't been able to defend themselves well enough against the other benders and their purely physical elements.

But - my mind immediately contradicted me - if that was the case, then why weren't shadowbenders a part of the avatar cycle? No, Kaida must have been one of a kind.

It was a strange thing to be thinking about. I supposed that the concept of shadowbending was just floating around in my head, seeing that Kaida was out practicing it on the deck nearby and blinding me every fifteen seconds. Frankly, that sort of thing was kind of hard to ignore.

At that moment, she seemed to be struggling with a particular technique. Her image became see-through, like she was a ghost, and every couple of minutes she would sigh sharply or mutter something indiscernible to herself. Finally, she huffed loudly, making it only to the side of the deck before dropping right to the ground, cross-legged.

"Okay," she panted, sweat beading her skin as she locked eyes with me. "Your turn."

I nodded, stepping out from the shadows and into the blaring sunlight. It would have made any other kind of bender uncomfortable - the searing heat - but I could already feel it on my skin, making me stronger. Every bender had their time of day; this was mine. I warmed up with a simple set Uncle had taught me long ago. I remembered how I used to hate doing it over and over again, because I could never get it right. Now, it was easy; second nature.

As I ran swiftly through the movements, it was hard not to notice Kaida's, as well as several of the crew members' eyes, watching me. On my old ship I never really cared, but it was much harder now to brush off the fact that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Of course, on my old ship, there hadn't been any women on board; now, there were two, and one of them was sitting fifteen yards away.

Still, I argued with myself, it wasn't like she cared about modesty; especially mine. Whatever. They were only practice clothes.

Gradually, my bending progressed, the steps and requirements to complete the moves became more difficult. The sun beat down on my back and my heart started to feel like it was going to combust. This was always the worst part of training: trying to keep up my stamina when all I really wanted to do was collapse. Some days I could push through it mentally without giving in, and some days I couldn't.

When it finally came around to it, I held on to the last hit without losing that internal battle with myself. When I executed the move, however, something pale stopped my arm from swinging out into the final position. Kaida smirked, apparently having gotten over her exhaustion. Still grinning, she struck expertly in my direction.

Brushing off the shock of her appearance instantly, I took a step back, cutting her blow short. The shadowbender's dark eyebrows slid up a little bit as she changed tactics and went for a trip. Again, I managed to avoid it, stepping to the side as her eyebrows inched even closer to her hairline. I took the opportunity, grabbing her arm.

"Good . . ." Kaida muttered almost silently, twisting out of my grip.

Suddenly, _I _had _her_ moving back, instead of the other way around. She dodged the punches I threw at her, steadily backing toward the front of the ship and that odd expression growing more pronounced by the second. Just as her back hit the ship's railing, she laughed loudly, both arms flying out on either side.

And, just like that, my eyes were useless.

I kicked out in front of me, where Kaida _ought _to have been, but there was nothing; no surprise. I stepped back, away from the edge of the deck, turning my head from side to side suspiciously. There was a quiet rushing sound behind me as the shadowbender tried to catch me off guard from the back.

I ran my fist through the space behind me, setting a trail of blazing fire across the air. Some small part of my mind noticed that the flame did nothing to light up the deck; it was just _there. _Kaida jumped audibly out of the way, making it slightly easier to follow her movements. She hadn't been ready for that.

My fingertips caught fire as I cut her off, trying to imagine in my mind what she would be doing physically. The counter hits came to me seamlessly, like a natural process. The more I stopped her rain of hits, the more the endless black started to fade. Kaida's advances became more urgent as her veil slipped, and it wasn't long before I could see her form again. It was still similar to nighttime, but it was better than pitch darkness.

Her expression was the best part. She had the most irritated expression on her face. It was almost funny. Her punches were more aggressive, now, as well, and I could tell that she had obviously not been prepared for me to be able to hold her off.

In an instant, my eye caught the gleam of my dagger in her belt, just barely glimmering as Kaida's shadow veil faded away. I stepped forward so that I was close enough to take the hilt, pulling it out of the sheath. Kaida blinked, her face mortified as she struggled to figure out what had just happened. I held the blade to her throat, causing the shadowbender to stagger back instinctively, right into the metal railing. She deadpanned.

Suddenly, we were an inch away from each other, panting. Kaida's eyes seared into mine.

"You _beat _me," Kaida exclaimed, looking thoroughly humiliated.

"No need to sound so surprised," I answered, fully enjoying her moment of disbelief at what I had managed to do. "_You're _the one who told me I needed to practice more." She was speechless, her mouth hanging open and her eyes betraying her apparent embarrassment at being outdone in her own field of expertise.

"But-"

"Kaida! Zuko! I need to speak with you!"

I glanced toward Uncle, who was poking his head out of the door just around the corner. He caught my gaze and waved the two of us over, snapping Kaida almost willingly out of her own little world of disbelief. She walked on purposefully ahead of me, like she was trying to avoid eye contact for the time being.

"Go get changed, then come down to the control room in five minutes," he instructed us, holding the door open and ushering for Kaida and I to walk through. "We need to figure out how we're going to be getting in to the fire nation."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I cringed, hearing Zuko walk through the door to the control room.

I honestly doubt I had ever changed that fast before in my life, and it was a miracle that I hadn't accidently put my shirt on inside out or something stupid like that. It was the first time that sharing a room with the prince had really bothered me. The whole thing was petty, of course, but it still made me ashamed to have been beaten at my own game.

"We need to decide how we're getting into the fire nation," Iroh announced, repeating what he had said earlier.

And, just like that, I didn't care anymore.

"You're asking _our _opinion?" Zuko questioned, like he couldn't believe it.

"Of course," Iroh responded, as if nothing were wrong with that fact. I crossed my arms, leaning back onto my heels as I watched the old man doubtfully. "This is Kaida's mission, after all."

The two men looked over at me, standing with my back against the cold wall of the control room; putting me on the spot. I frowned. So, what? I was in no position to be making choices that crucial, so why were they both staring at _me_? I racked my brain for a decent answer, biting my lip as I shook off the previous bad mood.

"Well . . . what are our options?" I inquired, unable to come up with anything. Honestly. I had never been to the fire nation. I had never _wanted _to go to the fire nation.

"We could go across by sea, which would be the faster, but more dangerous route," Iroh offered. I made a mental note to remember that, by the tone of his voice, the sea equaled bad things for us. "Or we could sneak in as fire nation citizens, which would be slower, but almost a guaranteed success." Well, the answer was obvious, wasn't it?

"Sea," I stated bluntly, my tone of voice leaving no room for arguing. Zuko responded immediately by giving me an are-you-some-kind-of-stupid look, and voicing his one-sided opinion on the subject.

"That's suicide, Kaida," he stated calmly.

"Every second I waste is another opportunity for them to kill my family," I countered, trying dutifully not to think too hard about what I'd just suggested.

"You'll be wasting a lot more than time if we die before we get there," Zuko reasoned. Iroh nodded, as if to make things worse. Everybody knew that if Iroh agreed, there was no chance of the opposing individual winning the argument. I was toast.

"What Zuko is saying is the truth, Kaida," the general informed me with reluctance in his eyes. "It would be much wiser to try and go in unnoticed."

I grimaced, letting out a breath. Maybe they were right, maybe impatience was clouding my judgment, but couldn't stand taking any more of my sweet time than I already had. The past two years wandering around with no plan whatsoever had been more than enough time and torture for all of us. I was late. The clock was ticking.

"I know how you feel about this, Kaida," Iroh commented, trying to soothe my nerves, "But you will have to trust that your grandmother and your cousin can hold out for just a little bit longer." I met his eyes, going for one last pleading look, but gave in.

"Fine . . ."

"Good," he nodded, pulling us back to a table occupying the middle of the room. To my surprise, though, it wasn't a table at all. The expensive mahogony centerpiece turned out to be a colossal map identical to the one he had been marking throughout our journey. That one was laid flat out on the top of the table-map for us to compare the blank one to.

My eyes took in as much as they could of the sheets of paper as I realized that this was what Iroh had planned on happening the entire time. That argument had been a set up; an act. It had been over before it had even started, and there had never really been a choice - just a set-up.

"I believe that this would be the best place to enter," Iroh told us. Zuko and I both leaned in over the table.

The spot he pointed to was nothing more than a tiny, little island southwest of the mainland. The map depicted a thin line connecting the island to the rest of the fire nation. A bridge?

"Ember Island?" Zuko blinked in stunned recognition, looking startled. "But, why-"

"It's the least heavily under surveillance off of the fire nation coast," Iroh explained, pointing out the strip that I had assumed to be a bridge. "We can take the carrier to the mainland and go in unnoticed."

"You make it sound so easy," I noted.

"That _is _the easy part," he confirmed, smiling in that cheerful way of his that I always associated with something I was about to be stressed about. "It's getting _out _that will be the problem."

"Fabulous," I muttered quietly.

"Oh, and I hope you two are all ready to go . . ." the old man added in slyly, gauging our expressions.

"Why . . . ?" Zuko demanded warily, his eyes sliding over to meet mine, which were a mirror to his suspicion.

"Because," Iroh answered, grinning and completely unconcerned, or so it seemed. "We're going to be there in twenty minutes."

"What!"

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Stupid ending. Will make up for it later.**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Parev! . . . nothing to report. ^_^ Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: N. O. No.**

"We're going to be there in twenty minutes."

**BREAKING AND ENTERING**

_"Find your way into my heart."_

Ember Island.

It was exactly the way I remembered it.

Standing on the bow of the ship, leering into the blinding sunlight at the small vacation town, it was the first thing that I registered. The beach huts, the white sand, the palm trees . . . it was all the same; unchanging. It was like time hadn't bothered with that place the way it had bothered to chase after me. I was the only thing that had changed here.

"No way!"

Kaida came running up behind me and kicked over the side wall, jumping right over the ship's safety rail. I looked on somewhere in between disgust and horror as she leaned off the fifty foot drop, her thin fingers the only thing attaching her to the ship as she grinned at the scene spanned out in front of us. As usual, the fact that she was about to kill herself did nothing to phase the shadowbender. Spirits, she was crazy.

"This can't be the fire nation," she informed me, certainty lacing her voice. "It doesn't look anything like I pictured it."

"What did you expect?" I asked dully, watching her swing back and forth.

"Oh, you know," Kaida began, looking up toward the heavens. "Fire, screaming, maybe a decorative volcano or two. Same as everywhere else."

"You should stop that," I said shortly, dismissing her comment for a different topic. "You're going to draw attention to yourself hanging off the railing like that." I almost gagged, remembering the sort of people Ty Lee used to attract by hanging off of things she shouldn't have been hanging off of. Kaida shrugged, stepping cooperatively back onto the deck.

"Come on, you two," Uncle called, stealing my attention over to where he stood waiting at the top of the exit ramp. "We don't want to be walking around in the dark, you know." He shot a meaningful look at Kaida, who cringed slightly, and again I felt I was missing something.

"Right," the shadowbender replied, immediately starting for the ramp. I followed a second or two later, grabbing Uncle's bag and slinging it over my shoulder absently. Mr. and Mrs. Yuumi filed out on deck from the floor below, waving and muttering words of caution to the three of us.

"We'll stay close in case you need us," Mrs. Yuumi promised, making me wonder just how many people Uncle knew who would willingly help with something so dangerous. I had only known a few in all my life, and he seemed to be personally acquainted with each and every one of them. But, then again, Uncle knew _everybody._

"It is much appreciated," the old man replied, kissing Mrs. Yuumi on the cheek. Kaida wrinkled her nose at the gesture.

I began to walk down the steel ramp toward dry land, letting Uncle say his lengthy goodbyes while I got the rest of us a head start. Who knew how long he would be up there chatting, after all? It wasn't as if we needed to find an inn to stay at, but I was the slightest bit anxious to step into our old vacation house again. It was the strangest thing, especially seeing that I hadn't been there since my early childhood, back when we had the whole family together . . .

"What the-"

I jumped back as a streak of light flew past my shoulder and into the copse of palm trees. Whirring around in shock, my eyes locked on Kaida, who still had her palm out in front of her from shadowbending so quickly. She bit her lip, not noticing my gaze the first couple of seconds, then taking on a sort of guilty expression when she did see me staring.

"What was that for?" I demanded as she straightened herself, planting her hands on her hips. My eyes darted back and forth between her and the place she had been aiming for, searching for something to maybe justify the action.

"No reason," the shadowbender said lightly, blowing a strand of ink hair out of her face.

"Let's go, everyone," Uncle called from behind Kaida, already walking along the beach toward our old house. Kaida winked at me, then dashed after Iroh, knowing very well that she had gotten out of explaining herself for the time being. I followed quietly, ignoring the uneasy air radiating off of the area Kaida had shadowbent into as I willingly closed the distance between me and the rest of the group.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_That was way too close,_ I realized as I watched Zuko catch up with us.

Hurling that bout of shadowbending into the forest had been a bad idea, even if a shadow creature had been prowling around right behind the where the prince had been standing. There had been no way of avoiding what had to be done, but it was only then that I decided that I should have done it in a less conspicuous way. He would definitely be on my case about that, now.

Maybe it would be better if I told him the truth; explained to him about the shadow beings and what they were - or what I _thought _they were - but some part of me didn't want to. Something inside of myself wanted this to stay my little secret. Sure, Iroh knew about it, but that was different. I knew for a fact that he wouldn't question me about anything or tell someone behind my back. Maybe Zuko wouldn't tell anybody, but he also wouldn't leave me alone about what I could see.

And then, possibly more importantly, what if Zuko didn't believe me?

Regardless of what I did to convince them, the people of my old village never believed what I told them about the shadows. I knew that they all loved me, and of course they meant well, but I was never quite treated the same way by the other children I lived near. For eight years after the incident, I lived knowing that my sanity was questionable in the minds of the people I saw on a daily basis. I knew how much it hurt to be thought crazy.

And, if Zuko started to think that . . . well, I wasn't sure. In a way he already thought I was insane, but not really. It was an overstatement. He was kidding; being sarcastic. But what if he _really _thought I was deranged? For some reason, the thought of such a thing made me seriously _not_ want to say anything. In fact, it made me want to never touch on the subject again. How strange . . .

"Here we are."

I trailed Iroh's gaze up the palm-scattered pathway we walked. The sandy trail winded up a medium-sized hill and right to a decaying, wooden staircase. Just past the steps was another short path paved with round, flat rocks that led right to a deserted, beach house. It was just a vacation home, but it was still bigger than any place I'd ever spent the night.

"Yours?" I asked, turning to Zuko. He nodded, his ember eyes fixated on the old, empty building. I couldn't be sure, but it seemed to me like he was incapable of looking away. The prince just stared up at the house, his features slightly softened from what I was used to.

"Well, let's go in, then," I prompted.

It didn't take a genius to see that Zuko wanted to step inside his old, vacation home again. The minute I started up the trail toward the stairs, the prince was on my heels. He stayed silent, but moved with a sort of urgency. He _needed _to be there. Something about this event was crucial to him. That much I could see.

I let Zuko move on ahead of me a bit, falling back into pace with Iroh. The old man had a sly smile on his face as he watched his nephew scale the hill up to his childhood memory. I felt oddly like I was intruding on something that was none of my business. My perception of family and past was not the same as Zuko's. Similar in some aspects, but this was definitely one thing that I was not able to relate to.

"I suppose the house reminds him of Firelady Ursa," Iroh commented, noticing me watching the young prince in all his urgency and impatience.

"What?" I asked, prying my gaze off the trail to question him with my eyes.

"He used to come here with his mother," the retired general replied simply. 'Used to?' Ah. I could take a hint.

By the time we reached the abandoned beach house, Zuko had already gone missing inside of it. I pulled the front door open, letting my eyes run away with me, taking in the building.

The inside was sleek and clean. It was still completely neat and kept up, and smelled slightly of cinnamon and roses. The fireplace in the northeast corner was lit up - which I assumed Zuko must have done upon entering - and it flickered off of the dark wood of the floor. The entire main room was beautiful, but, at the same time, it was not too much. Nothing was made of gold, there were no gemstones glimmering off of anything.

It was so natural. Yes, that was it. It didn't look like the vacation home of the firelord's family. The layout wasn't extravagant like I had assumed it would be. It actually felt like a home; like somewhere even I might be able to live.

I stepped into the main room, my eyes going wide at the back wall, which was made entirely of glass and made the dense forest behind the house visible.

"Hn, wow," I murmured to myself, and to Iroh if he could hear me. "I think I know why he wanted to come back here so badly, now."

"Come," Iroh said in a hushed tone, coaxing me up the stairs. "I will show you to your room."

.

I don't think I could have asked for a more horrible room.

It was gorgeous and comfortable, and it was the perfect temperature. It had the most amazing bed I'd ever had the pleasure of falling onto without a seconds' hesitation and the slowly churning fan let a soft wind hit my face in a way that almost made me forget that I was in the fire nation. There was just one little problem, though.

Just like the main room downstairs, the entire left wall was gone; replaced with only a thin layer of unprotective glass.

Maybe I didn't mind it downstairs, where I could be awake and guarded, but this was my room. This was where I had to sleep, and I doubted I'd be getting any sleep at all if there were shadow beings waltzing around just outside my bedroom window-for-a-wall. But, of course, stupid me didn't realize that until night had fallen over Ember Island, and Iroh was snoozing away in his own windowless bedroom.

Long story short, I would have to wait until morning to ask to switch with someone, and by that time we would probably be moving on to somewhere else, and I would have gone insane.

So, I did what I always did in tight situations: I took the problem into my own hands.

I slipped out of my designated room in just the nightdress that Iroh had lent me to sleep in. Somehow, I had the disgusting notion that it used to belong to Azula, but did my best to ignore that revelation. The empty, upstairs hallway was silent as I crept through it. I wasn't sure what I was actually looking for; only that I couldn't stay in my room the way it was.

I passed the first door on my right and, hearing a decent amount of snoring sounding through the thick, wooden door, decided it was Iroh's for the time being. Just past the old general's door, a crystalline fish tank was embedded in the wall. When I peered inside the glowing container of water, however, I found that there weren't any fish still inside. The image was unsettling to me for some reason.

I backed away from the tank, continuing my search through the vacation house. The next door I came to was the one that stopped me.

The character engraved into the mahogany read "Zuko." I pressed my ear to the door, listening for internal sounds. Nothing. I stepped back, internal debate raging in my head. I knew that going into Zuko's old room would be an incredibly bad idea, but strangely enough I was curious about what I might find there. Maybe I'd find some answers as to why he was acting so strangely.

Still, though. I had no idea where he'd run off to, and for all I knew he might not even be in there, but I would have some serious explaining to do if he was.

Finally, after countless seconds of consideration, I stepped back up to the door. My fingers pressed into the cold handle, silently twisting it to find that the room had not even been locked. I pushed my body weight onto it, and the panel swung open almost too easily.

Zuko's old room was . . . neat.

I supposed they must have had maids to come by and clean it up after they left, but, even so, it was neater than Azula's had been when I entered it. The sheets on the bed were dark as blood and perfectly made; not a wrinkle in sight. There was a shelf on the right wall that was filled up with books, from top to bottom, and several picture frames decorated the nightstand. It was still obviously belonging to a child, but there was a certain level of adult-like care that had been put into the upkeep of the bedroom.

I stepped forward again, noticing the way the wind blew the crimson curtains framing the open window. Apparently, Zuko had gone on some sort of field trip without telling us. Oh, well. That gave me more time to look around.

I picked up the first picture I laid my eyes on once I reached the nightstand, turning the lamp on. The frame was chipped in the corner and incredibly dusty; so much so that I had to wipe the front of it off to be able to see the picture it held. I almost laughed out loud when I figured out who it was.

The little boy in the frame was grinning, some dark hair from his short ponytail falling out and into his pale face. Two front teeth were missing from his wide smile, and he wore the traditional clothing of a high noble. My mouth quirked up at the sight. Little Zuko was cute, to say the least. I sat the picture back down, still smirking at the unexpected affect it had on me.

The next picture I picked up was just as covered in dust as the first. Cleaning it off, I recognized the face of Zuko again, along with another child, who could only have been Azula. She was grinning so much that her eyes squinted shut, and she clung tightly to her brother's back. It was almost as if she would be laughing if the picture moved at all. Invariably hard to believe, but the fire princess _was _a child once, and there must have been a time when she was just as innocent as any other kid.

The last of the picture frames was the smallest. Taking it up, I realized that it was also the only one that had been dusted off before I even touched it. There was no one that I recognized in this one; just a dark-haired woman that I had never seen before that moment. Her eyes were the same color as Zuko's, and they were nothing but kind. She was smiling just a bit, as if she knew something I didn't.

Eyes still on the picture in my hands, I let myself sit back onto Zuko's bed. This must have been his mother. What had Iroh said her name was? Firelady . . . oh, I couldn't remember. I shook the thought away, focusing back on the photo. She was beautiful, without a doubt. And she looked like Zuko-

"What are you doing here?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin, the picture fumbling in my already-too-tense hands. I stood up immediately, setting the frame back into it's place on the nightstand and turning to the corner of the room that the voice had come from.

Zuko stood behind the open door, his face half-concealed by the shadows. His arms were crossed over his chest, but he didn't move from his shaded spot by the closet. His eyes glinted in the lamp I had lit.

"How long have you been standing there?" I inquired lightly, careful to conceal the fact that he had actually startled me. Even though I sounded like I'd known he was standing in the corner, the reality was that my heart was about to pound it's way out of my chest.

"The entire time," the prince replied, his eyes staying locked with mine. My head spun. Either he was getting better at this, or I was more exhausted than I thought. The fact that Zuko had been able to stand there silently the whole time - and, even worse, the fact that I hadn't noticed - was not something that I had ever counted on happening.

I waited a long time before I responded, trying to figure out why he hadn't said anything. In fact, I was still trying to riddle out why he had disappeared the minute we reached the house, and to where. Finally, I mimicked his crossed arms and sat back onto his bed, making it clear that I wasn't just going to leave. The more I peered into the dark where he stood, the more my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. He was still wearing the same clothes he'd had on when we arrived.

My eyes burned dully, evidence that I was more tired than I'd noticed before, and I could feel little goosebumps forming on my arms. The thin nightdress I wore offered hardly any protection against the frigid temperature, and apparently even the most tropical place in the fire nation got cold at night. I rubbed my arms, crossing my legs and leaning back a bit.

"So," I tried in a conversational tone. "Your mom is pretty."

"You're avoiding my question," Zuko countered, that characteristic annoyance seeping back into his voice and replacing his blank, emotionless facade. I think I liked the annoyance better because it was familiar. "What are you doing in here?"

"I don't like my room," I lied truthfully. Zuko hesitated, then stepped out of the shadows and up to the foot of the bed.

"And you came into my room because?"

"Oh, just making sure you weren't dead," I answered easily, grinning. Zuko frowned. "Wher've you been, sparky?"

"I've been in here," he replied, looking off to the side with a confused expression on his face. I wasn't sure if I believed him or not.

"And what about up here?" I asked, pulling my legs onto the bed and tapping the side of my head. His eyes softened.

"Nowhere you've been."

". . . fair enough," I settled. At least the prince was being truthful with me. I slid back off the bed, walking to the door and pulling it open. "Come on."

"Why?" Zuko asked, but took a step forward despite his answer. A smirk lit up my face.

"You're going to show me what you used to do on your trips here."


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Moien! Thanks to everyone who reviewed; new readers and old readers! (not that you guys are old) 8P**

**Disclaimer: Oh, just you wait . . . XD**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

_"You're going to show me what you used to do on your trips here."_

**WHAT HAPPENS AT THE BEACH**

What was I doing?

I can't honestly say I knew. The short, simple version would be that I was following Kaida down to the beach. Easy enough to understand. But, spirits . . . what was I doing? What was compelling me to sneak out with her when I should have been sleeping? That was where my train of thought derailed.

"You're too slow," Kaida called over her shoulder, looking back at me.

We were both walking down the wood-paneled pathway that came down to the coast from our house, in justifiably freezing weather, with nothing on but our night clothes. I wasn't even wearing shoes, and, well . . . Kaida never wore shoes, anyway, so I assumed it didn't bother her as much. But, still, she couldn't have been comfortable. All she had on was Azula's old nightdress.

"You're too fast," I answered. "How can you be so awake right now?"

"I'm a night owl," she replied, falling back into step beside me. We descended the wooden stairs that went off the ledge and onto the actual beach. She grinned as her bare feet met the white sand of the edge of the island, staring down at the ground as her pace gradually slowed. She slowly dug her toes under the powdery sand, eyes trained downward.

"Haven't you ever been to the beach before?" I questioned watching her ogle at the sand under her feet. She shook her head, eyes still glued to the ground.

"Nope."

I shrugged, walking on ahead while she became more and more absorbed with the island. Being out there again brought back memories, and, surprisingly, they weren't bad memories. Some were actually somewhat happy, while others were just random snapshots from when I used to go there; not even so much memories as they were mental images from the past.

The thin sliver of a moon that remained in the sky was doing a poor job of lighting up the shore, but it was still possible to see if I squinted. Finding a few of them scattered around, I silently lit up a few of the fire lamps embedded into the unsteady sand. It made it a bit easier to see, but not much.

My foot hit something on the ground, kicking it right into the retreating tide. Pulling my eyes to the shore, I found that it was an old beach ball, bobbing up and down in the seawater. An idea started to mold itself together in my mind. I picked it up out of the waves, turning around to see if there was a net nearby. Ironically, Kaida had already found it, and looked comically like she was trying to figure out what to do with the posts. Well, I supposed we were 'friends', now . . .

I began to walk toward the net, and, once I was within throwing distance, tossed the beach ball over lightly. Kaida looked up unsuspectingly at the sound, just barely managing to catch it right in front of her face. She looked around the inflatable at me, then grinned, stepping back onto the line.

"What?" she inquired theatrically. "The great and dignified Prince Zuko is going to teach me how to play beach volleyball?" Her eyes widened innocently as I looked toward the sky.

"Do you want me to do this, or not?" I demanded, trying to retain my composure.

"Yes, sensei," Kaida replied immediately, sobering up. I sighed at the new title I had just earned myself.

"Okay," I began, crossing over to her side of the net. "First try this."

I tossed the beach ball up high into the air, interlocking my fingers and hitting it back up again as it came back to me. After a couple of times, I tossed it to Kaida. She locked her fingers together, mimicking my hands, and bumped the ball up lightly, then again. It didn't take long for her to get that look-what-I-can-do expression on her face, and the more confident she got, the higher she hit the ball. After just a second or two, though, she accidentally hit it too high. It caught the wind, blowing out toward the ocean.

"Oh, no!" Kaida laughed, taking off after the inflatable.

I ran after the both of them as well, but it was too late. The wind had taken it far out into the ocean, and now it was drifting away as well. I stopped myself, already wondering what we were supposed to do now that the ball was gone, but, to my surprise, Kaida's pace didn't slow even a bit. It wasn't until she was right at the water's edge that I realized what she was about to do.

"Wait!" I yelled, but she had already dove into the black ocean. The sound of the splash seemed to echo across the entire island, cutting into the peaceful silence of the night. She resurfaced after a moment, sucking in a loud breath, but continuing to swim with her head above the water.

"Spirits, it's cold!" she sputtered, still sounding insanely like she was laughing at herself. Her voice had become harder to hear over the sound of her noisy swimming and panting.

"It's the middle of the night!" I yelled at the shadowbender, who was managing to kick herself farther and farther away from the shore without much effort on her part. "What did you expect?"

"Be quiet, Zuko," Kaida called back, floating on top of the seawater, now, rather than swimming. "I can't hear you from here." The shadowbender laughed again, worrying me even more.

"Then come back!" I called uselessly, wondering if she really couldn't hear me, or if she was just giving an excuse to ignore what I said.

"I still can't hear what you're saying, sparky," came Kaida's reply over the crashing waves. "You'll have to come out here if you want to talk to me."

Come out there? She had to be out of her mind. If there was one place I was not going tonight, it was out into that ice-cold water. I couldn't stand either of them; the cold, or the water. Maybe _she _wanted to freeze to death, but I wasn't about to join her. I crossed my arms, wondering how long I would have to stand there before she finally gave up and swam back. I closed my eyes in impatience.

Over the applause-like sound of the tide, I could hear Kaida whistling brightly as she let the ocean pull her where the currents ran. I frowned. She seemed pretty content to stay there despite all the complaining she'd done just minutes earlier. After another impatient moment or two, the shadowbender's voice floated back in from the sea again.

"Oh, come on, Zuko! Don't be such an-ahh!"

My eyes snapped open, and I blinked, stepping forward. Somewhere off, sleepy seagulls were calling out in annoyance at all the noise we were making. My eyes scanned the surface of the water, but I couldn't see Kaida anywhere; just the colorful beach ball, even further away than before.

"Kaida?" I called, grudgingly stepping ankle-deep into the water that actually _was _freezing. I paced the bank, trying to make out something in the water that could have pulled her under. Ember Island was infamous for it's unagi problems. Although, I would have been afraid, had I been the unagi to try and take a bite out of Kaida. My eyes re-ran over the hissing seawater, still finding nothing.

"Hey, Kaida!" I shouted again, considerably louder this time, and stepped farther into the ocean to where it was halfway up my shins. This was what happened when you acted like an idiot in a foreign country. I didn't _think_ that something serious could have happened to her, but-

Out of nowhere, a pair of pale, white arms burst from the seafoam-covered water, taking my shoulders and pulling me into the ocean. For a half of a second, my vision was completely black from being underwater, then color and sound flooded back to me as I broke the surface again. Kaida came up not a moment later, nearly choking from trying to laugh while she was still underwater.

"Kaida," I growled, unamused, water dripping from my unruly hair and into my face. "Why did you do that? It's freezing out here!"

"Oh, quit being so stuffy, Zuko," she answered, rolling her eyes and smirking as we tread black water. "Have some fun."

"This isn't fun," I said simply, trying to understand what she found so amusing about being in the ocean. "I'm getting out."

I pivoted around, away from Kaida, but she took my arm, pulling me back. It wasn't so much that I _couldn't_ break her grip, as it was the initial surprise of the gesture that kept me there. I swiveled back around, finding that the short girl was just a few inches from my face. My first instinct was to pull back the slightest bit at her stare.

"I think you're scared," she commented lightly, quirking that eyebrow. I frowned down at her.

"No."

"Then stay," she amended, sounding strangely like she actually _wanted _me to.

"Why?" I asked as she let go of my arm, trying to ignore the fact that something was brushing the side of my leg underwater.

"Because," Kaida grinned alarmingly, stepping, if possible, even closer to me. "You're it."

"I'm what-hey!"

Before I even had time to process what had happened, Kaida pushed me back down by the shoulder and had disappeared under the angry water again. Giving in unconsciously, I sucked in a breath of salty air and plunged in after her.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I rubbed my stinging eyes with one hand, simultaneously resting my chin heavily on the other, which was propped up on the kitchen table in Zuko's beach house. The prince sat across from me in a similar position, only he looked suspiciously like he had fallen back asleep. His sable hair kept flying away from his face as his breath whistled in and out of his mouth. Sighing, I smacked the table loudly. He jumped and looked around drowsily, then paused to glare at me before closing his purple-rimmed eyes again.

Zuko and I had been out at the beach until the sun had begun to come up. Now, it was almost time to get on the road again, and we hadn't gotten even a minute of sleep. I almost smirked. Zuko was so mad at me, but, considering that he had been grinning just an hour earlier, I knew it was worth it. I would never have thought him capable of letting go like that.

Of course, now it was morning, and I couldn't even hold my own head up properly, much less walk on my own. In other words, I had definitely not planned ahead on this one - something that I was notoriously bad about anyway - and no amount of willpower would help me now. There was a wooden _creak _from the back of the spacious chamber.

"Good morning," Iroh greeted the two of us cheerfully as he drifted down the stairs and into the sunlight-bathed room. "How was y . . . you both look terrible."

I gave the old man a dull look while Zuko groaned, his head hitting the table.

"Gee," I muttered, darkly. "I'm flattered, Iroh."

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, stepping quickly into the kitchen with a knowing smile on his face. "Interesting night . . . ?"

"No!" Zuko and I responded in irritation at the exact same time. Iroh rolled his eyes, heading for the door with a flourish.

"Alright," He replied like he didn't believe us in the slightest. "Well, we should get going. It's a long way to the Royal City."

The prince and I groaned simultaneously, burying our faces into the table all over again. Just the thought of travelling made me want to pass out. I breathed out through my mouth. Iroh watched us struggle to push ourselves up from the surprisingly comfortable kitchen chairs with interest, cocking a silvery eyebrow at the almost comical scene we were putting on.

"On second thought," he amended slowly. "I think I'll call someone to take us there on ostrich-horse."


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: **

**Okay, so a lot of people have been mentioning that Zuko and Kaida's relationship seems a bit slow. Don't get me wrong, it is and I know it is - but I'm doing it on purpose. I'm the kind of writer who tries to stay realistic, and with everything that's going on in Zuko and Kaida's lives at the moment, it wouldn't be practical to complicate things even more by getting into a serious relationship.**

**Remember, also, that this story isn't romance-centric, and there is actually a story and other sub-plots and problems that they have to deal with. Of course, I'm still going to make sure that there are romantic scenes, and they'll continue getting closer to each other, but it might be a little while before they are officially "together." **

**Anyway, I just wanted to adress that issue, and I hope you guys continue to stick with me, despite the pace of my story at the moment!**

**Disclaimer: Nuh, uh.**

**I REALLY NEED A VACATION**

_"Anger is momentary madness,  
so control your passion, or it will control you."_

"Alright, stay close to me, both of you," Iroh said sternly as we watched our rides gallop off in the opposite direction.

I frowned at his sudden change in demeanor, taking it as seriously as if he were openly yelling at us. Looking around, I was finally seeing the side of the fire nation that I had imagined in the worst part of my mind. The setting sun painted the sky a violent, blood-red that only served to make the rest of it even more threatening. Ember Island had not been an accurate representation of the fire nation; not compared to this.

I thought back to our short time in Ba Sing Se, remembering the cold attitude of the citizens there. At the time, I had imagined the fire nation to be that way, but I had been off mark. Rather than being uniform, the people living in the fire nation seemed to be split right down the middle. The silent half of them, mostly women and children, _did _act like the Ba Sing Se population. In fact, I could almost say that it was worse. They seemed terrified of every noise; every shadow. It was as if they were at the end of a sword at all hours of the day, just waiting to be caught doing something wrong.

The other half, however, was the complete opposite. They would stand around alleys or other dark areas, glaring at people and flaunting their firebending to anyone that passed by. I couldn't help but notice the way no one seemed able to look any of them in the eyes. In fact, if all the others were at the end of a sword, then this half was the one holding the handle, pointing it at them.

"This district is one of the most dangerous in all of the fire nation," Iroh continued as we walked the narrow roads of the district 'Koh.' "Just follow me and keep your heads down."

I nodded, turning my eyes to the dull red of the brick-paved street. It seemed that, no matter where we went, the architecture always resembled a dirty, back alleyway. I wrinkled my nose at the potent smell of sake hanging over the place. Iroh was, for once, far ahead of Zuko and I. I had never seen the man so stressed out in all my life. He had given me a long lecture during the ride there on how to stay under the radar, and I couldn't help but pick up on his anxious persona. It was rubbing off on me; making me anxious, too.

The only one who's nerves didn't seem like they were about to explode was Zuko. His face was impassive and bored as we attempted to find somewhere to stay on the 'good' side of the district that wasn't already maxed out. I imagined that, had he not been nobility there, he probably would have been on the side holding the end of the metaphorical sword. He was completely relaxed, and, frankly, completely bored.

The lamps that lined the street on either side were lit suddenly, and my eyes snapped betrayingly back up. It was only then that I realized how dark it had become in a matter of minutes. I began to notice that the kind of people prowling around the district had gotten slightly shadier compared to when we first got there. Eyes flicking up at the pitch-dark sky, I wondered idly if there were shadow creatures in the fire nation . . .

Iroh stopped, putting his hand up in a gesture for Zuko and I to halt, too. He wearily took the handle of the door to a short, one-story building. Engraved into the entrance was the picture of a lotus, the same one I'd occasionally see the retired general fidget with every now and then. I wondered it he knew someone specific, or if it was just a coincidence that this flower was something that I'd seemed to have unknowingly connected with the man.

"Zuko and Kaida," Iroh began. "You two will have to stay out here in front of the shop while I do this. Remember what I said to you earlier. Don't speak to anyone, keep your eyes down and do not draw attention to yourself." He pulled the door open hurriedly, turning to look back at us once. "I will be out in a few minutes." And, with that, he was gone; disappeared into the mysterious tea shop that we were apparently not allowed to go into.

Zuko leaned against the wall, eyes closed. I joined the boy prince, pressing my back into the side of the shop next to him. I could feel my heartbeat pumping twice it's normal speed, proof enough that I was tense. There were just so many _firebenders _there; too many. Obviously, I had fully expected there to be, since it_ was _the fire nation, but actually being there, in the midst of them all . . . that was a completely different story. I hadn't been around so many firebenders since my village was burnt to the ground.

A group of particularly rough-looking guys stood huddled together on the opposite side of the alley, one or two stores down. I huffed, intentionally crossing my arms in front of my body. I wasn't running around in that too-short dress any more - and I was more than happy to have my baggy pants back on - but my shirt was another situation entirely. It stopped at the bottom of my ribcage, and I didn't like that; not here, where nobody cared what happened to some nameless face on the street.

I turned my eyes away from the group. What was I thinking? I shook my head slightly. I was getting way too paranoid for my own good. The odds of something happening here were next to nothing, and, even if something _did_ happen, I was more than capable of dealing with it on my own. In an attempt to distract myself from any more stupid ideas, I turned my eyes on Zuko. To my shock, though, he had his gaze caught somewhere over my shoulder, and I would have been willing to bet anything that I knew exactly what he was leering at so suspiciously.

"Have you been to this district before?" I asked, bringing his attention down to me again.

"Yeah," he answered. "A few times. My cousin used to take me with him when he restocked on battle supplies. District Koh is the best place to buy them."

"Well, that explains a lot," I answered, biting my lip. I definitely believed him about the battle supplies. "You seem a lot calmer than your uncle, for once." I smirked a little bit, fairly sure that the world had never heard of such a thing.

"He's just over-careful," Zuko explained, his expression relaxing. "He doesn't trust the fire nation any more."

"Do you?" I asked in an immediate response. He didn't answer, instead turning a slightly puzzled expression on me, like he didn't quite understand the question.

Suddenly, there was an amused shout from across the street. My eyes snapped up, and I groaned internally as they met three other pairs; the same ones that had been further down just a second ago. The three fire nation guys grinned, their expressions mirrors of each other to a certain extent. I narrowed my eyes toward them, then turned back to Zuko in an attempt to pretend that nothing had happened. I chanted and re-chanted Iroh's stern instructions to myself slowly.

_Don't speak, eyes down, don't draw attention._

"Just ignore them," Zuko told me unconcernedly, though, when I looked up, I saw the bridge of his nose was pinched up in irritation. "They'll get bored and move on to someone else."

I huffed, keeping myself turned in the prince's direction. I never thought that having him out there would actually make me feel a bit calmer, but that was exactly what it did. He was familiar; the rest of this place was foreign. Obviously, I preferred the familiar. Obviously, I preferred him . . .

"Hey, you," the one in the front called, earning the laughter of his two friends. I closed my eyes, slowly counting to ten, but not before I saw Zuko turn to glare at the small group.

_. . . one . . . two . . . three . . ._

"Hey," he tried again. I clenched my teeth. He couldn't have been older than seventeen. I could take him if I really wanted to . . ."What's your name?"

_. . . four . . . five . . . six . . ._

"I like your shirt," his voice floated into my ears, sugar-sweet. Spirits, it made me want to throw up. I opened my eyes to give Zuko a what-now look. Somehow, I didn't think they were going to get bored as quickly as he had predicted.

_. . . seven . . . eight . . . nine . . ._

"Hey," he pouted. "It's rude to ignore people." I ground my teeth together. Even Zuko looked like he was getting angry, which somehow surprised me since the thugs weren't even bothering him. I sucked in a deep breath, swearing to at least attempt to control myself. Regardless, though, I felt like I was about to snap at someone.

_. . . ten . . ._

"C'mon girl-"

That's when I lost my cool.

"_Don't _call me that."I warned the boy dangerously, my head snapping in his direction. He smirked triumphantly, like he'd just won a game. Left hand in my pocket, I fingered Zuko's dagger, allowing it to help me relax. Why it calmed me down, I would never know. It just did. Speaking of which, why was it in my pocket, still?

"What can I call you, then?" he asked, starting toward the opposite side of the road; _my_ side of the road.

"Call me anything, and I'll-"

"Kaida," Zuko cut in, scowling harshly. It seemed that in the midst of my conversation with the boy across the street, he had stepped closer to me without my noticing it. Iroh's warning flashed dully in my memory, but faded back into nothing as the thug took another step forward, his hand going for my waist. I slapped his arm away with a loud _pop_, pushing him back.

"Try and touch me again," I growled. "See what happens." Zuko moved to my side, licks of flame jumping off his fingertips involuntarily. So much for his 'control thyself' warning. "You'll never be able to-mml mrrp" I glared to my right at Iroh, who had his hand over my mouth like a stopper, and was grinning in a very strained fashion.

"Ahhhaa . . ." he attempted to laugh. "Don't listen to her, she knows not what she says."

The old man elbowed Zuko behind my back, who nodded and put on a fake smile as well. Before the gang even had time to fully process what was going on, the general had dragged Zuko and I into the Lotus Tea Shop and locked the door behind us. I held my breath, waiting for the old man to blow up on the both of us, but it never happened. Instead, he simply sighed, taking my shoulders with both his hands and positioning me so that I had to look him in the eyes.

"It is important to be able to control your temper," Iroh said very calmly, but with an intense look in his eyes. Somehow, it was all worse than if he'd been outright yelling at me. "I know that being here is uncomfortable for both of you, but you must control yourself. Now, come. I have found an inn to stay at."

I couldn't speak. All I could do was walk in the direction the retired general waved me, internally kicking myself the entire way there. What had I been thinking? I simply couldn't believe that I had let my anger get the best of me; that I had the nerve to put my entire remaining family in danger like that. It was stupid and selfish.

I glared dully at the poppy-red stone road, keeping silent as I watched Iroh's rusty, old inn key swing back and forth on its ring. The pendulum-like motion of the piece of metal sent me into a kind of a half trance, making my mind shut down in a way. I was still worn out from pulling that all-nighter with Zuko, and my body was not willing to cooperate for very much longer.

That's when I heard it.

The sound was so faint, but I would have been able to pick up on it anywhere. It didn't come from one area in particular, either, but from all around me. It was the lullaby; the same one I'd heard the time I saw the white shadowbender. The logical part of my mind demanded I listen again - asked if I could really be sure of such a thing - but I couldn't have been more positive. It was the exact melody.

"Kaida?" It wasn't until Zuko called my name that I realized that I had halted; frozen in the middle of the fire nation.

"Is something wrong?" Iroh intoned, looking strained over having to stop for me. I bit my lip hard, ordering my mouth to keep quiet as I shook my head and began to mov again. Both men resumed walking without further question, but I couldn't bring myself back into my semi-calm state of mind.

I mean, I knew I was tired, but this was too much. Hearing things . . . I scoffed internally. At this rate I would be completely insane by the time I reached Leila and my grandmother.

Suddenly, as if to add to my already-dangerous state of mind, there was was a shock of pure white in the furthest corner of my vision. My head snapped to the left, eyes drawn to the raggedy rooftops that strung each side of the dirty street. For a moment - just one insignificant portion of time - I almost thought I saw someone duck hastily over to the other side.

My mind rushed back to what I had almost managed to convince myself was a dream. That shadowbender . . . they had been clad in nothing but white. Even their hair had been white. Nobody, I reasoned with myself intensely. Nobody just ran around with platinum-silver hair, and no elderly person could have dove out of the way so quickly.

". . . Kaida . . . hey, are you paying any attention?"

I was suddenly brought back to earth by the sound of Zuko's voice. He was watching me, his topaz eyes smoldering as mine attempted to refocus on reality. I didn't say anything, but continued to keep my eyes on the prince, wordlessly telling him that I was listening, now.

"You should change," he frowned suddenly, taking in my appearance. I snorted. Where had that come from?

"Uh huh. Because I have a convenient extra shirt in my nonexistent pocket, right?" I asked, rolling my eyes, yet newly aware of my troublesome outfit. Zuko's eyes narrowed, evidence that he was not amused. "Listen, I would _love _to change, but I don't have anything to put on, remember?" I lifted my arms, as if to prove the lack of luggage residing on them.

Zuko seemed to contemplate that for a second, then did something that almost made me trip and fall flat on my face. He pulled off his overshirt, prying the thick crimson and gold material over his head. He still had another white undershirt beneath it, but that fact did nothing to stifle the heat that flooded to my face as he handed it over to me, not looking the slightest bit troubled by the action.

Swallowing my pride - and not to mention my embarrassment - I pulled it over my upper body. The shirt hung past my hips, way too big on me, but regardless did a much better job of modesty that my own outfit. Gradually, the stares from passersby subsided, but only served to add to my mounting confusion.

"You were wearing a foreign outfit before," Iroh intoned, apparently picking up on my lack of understanding. "Now you look like a citizen."

A distant part of my mind was slightly disgusted by that, but I barely heard the general, though. Maybe I was overthinking everything today, but my mind was racing. Why did Zuko care enough to give me his shirt to put on? True, he was probably annoyed at our last run in with _'his people'_, but still . . . And if he didn't care, then why had he looked so irritated when that boy from earlier had tried to touch me? I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

And what about that flash of white at the edge of my vision? I was tired. I could admit that. In fact, I was completely exhausted, so it was highly possible that I had imagined the whole ordeal. But there was just something about the event that I couldn't shake. Again, there was that air of familiarity; that I had seen it all somewhere before. There was no evidence to prove my belief, but something in the back of my mind told me that I had not made it up. TWhat had happened was real, and I knew it.

Gradually, the dangerous surroundings of the Royal City began to subside, safer, almost normal-looking shops and buildings taking their place. I coaxed myself back to the present, fighting back all temptation to think about the two very odd occurences that had just flown by. Even the lamps that lined the street looked more inviting; their fire somehow seeming to glow warmer, safer.

Despite that, I told myself, this was still the fire nation. This was the _heart _of the fire nation - without a doubt, the most dangerous part - and I was about to make myself known to every living thing there. The Royal City, in just a few days, would be seeing my wanted poster on every dark corner in town, along with Leila and my grandmother's. This was my grand finale in the fire nation, and I wasn't about to leave without making a lasting impression.

An uncomfortably warm breeze filtered through my hair, as Iroh stopped suddenly and pushed the weathered key into the iron lock of one of the many buildings lined up to our right. It was relatively small, especially compared with what we'd been staying in before, and looked exactly like all the other minuscule shops. Apparently, the old man meant for us to be staying in the least conspicuous place possible.

The room was dark as we entered, single file, through the narrow doorway. Zuko shot a stream of searing, red-hot flames into the corner, lighting up a blazing inferno in the fireplace. The orange glow of the fire sent shadows playing across our faces, adding to the intensity of the room as I sauntered forward. There were questions hanging in the air. I turned on Iroh, noticing that Zuko had done the same. The old man was smiling again, just the slightest bit, though at what I wasn't quite sure. Either way, I was finally able to interrogate him without being overheard.

"So," I began, raising my eyebrows. "What now?" The general's expression became something of a smirk as he finally started to relax.

"Now," he answered. "We make our plans."

**A/N: Love all my reviewers dearly. ^_^ Don't forget to R&R!**

**Oh, and one more thing. No more updates until about next Saturday, because I'm taking my butt on a vacation-type-event to Nashville, so hasta la pasta!**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Ello! I'm back from the middle of nowhere. 8) Once again, cyber cookies to everyone who reviewed. You guys make me so happy! -B**

**Disclaimer: IDNOATLA ^_^**

**I GET CAPTURED BY THE FIRE NATION. KINDA.**

_"Stop that, now.  
You're as close as it gets without touching me."_

"Is everybody clear on the plan?"

I turned to Kaida, who had chosen that moment to meet my eyes as well. I raised an eyebrow and she nodded, her grin returning.

"Crystal," she answered. Uncle turned his gaze to me and I confirmed it. We wouldn't get any more ready than this. Kaida looked like she was ready to explode with impatience. She had hardly made it through Uncle's detailed explanation without loosing it.

I couldn't decide how I felt. As much as I hated what the fire nation had done to me - and the feeling was mutual - this place was, and would always be, my home. There was no other place on earth that held that title; not from me. It was making the whole ordeal much more complicated than it needed to be.

Still, though, I argued with myself, it wasn't as if I was going out and ruining anyone's life. Well, no one's but my own, that is. And that was something I did frequently, anyway, so the sting of it had been lost.

No, we only had one objective; one seemingly harmless objective. Or, it was more like three, I supposed, when you broke it right down: get in, get Kaida's family and get out. It all sounded so simple when I put it that way, but, in truth, there was hardly any room for detours. If anything unexpected came up, we would have a problem on our hands. If we wasted any time, any time at all, we would have to fight to make it out of the Royal City alive before we were trapped inside of it like hunted animals.

Uncle ushered us both out of the very temporary house he had managed to acquire at the last minute. There was something final about the action of walking through the deteriorating door. I knew that it would be a very long time before I walked these streets again. My heartbeat quickened at the thought; the premonition of something big. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.

Kaida smoothed out her old, torn fire nation prisoner's dress; something that we had managed to pick up from a local vendor. She had almost had a bit _too _much fun making it look years old, rather than brand new. Uncle and I, however, were clad in the armour of common foot soldiers. It was one of the times when I couldn't help but be impressed with my uncle. How he had known all along to pack the uniforms he'd borrowed from Mr. and Mrs. Yuumi's ship could only be explained by perfect planning and a streak of genius.

"Very well," the old man replied at our readiness to go. "On my signal then."

Through the dark crimson bars of my helmet, I watched Kaida grin, the dirt and soot streaks on her face only adding to the act we were about to pull. Suddenly, I wasn't so decided. What if something went wrong? One of us could die trying to pull this off. I had been close enough to death before to know that it wasn't really as peaceful as people made it out to be; not the kind of death we were in danger of, anyway.

But it was too late for that. Kaida was already moving into position and away from us, while Uncle touched my arm lightly to follow him behind the house. I followed wordlessly, my muscles tensing up All I could think was, _This is it._

Once we were both safely concealed in the back alley on the far side of the building, Uncle waited a few agonizingly long minutes in dead silence before bringing his hands up to form a cup around his mouth. A piercing bird's whistle cut into the easy sounds of the village, which was only just beginning to wake up from a night's rest. That was the signal. We only had about half a minute before Kaida started her part of the plan.

I stepped out of the musty alley, truly attempting to look like a common fire nation soldier, just out on morning patrol. Needless to say, Uncle was a much better actor than I was, but I must have done a decent job of it as well, since no one gave us a passing glance as we strode by. It was probably a good thing my face was covered, though, or I undoubtedly would have given us away.

Suddenly - and perfectly on cue - Kaida burst from the narrow alley on the other side of the house, kicking over several large barrels in the process. She paused, took one look at Uncle and I, then took off down the street at full speed. Playing our part, we sprinted after her, shouting things at the 'runaway slave' and yelling for people to get out of the way. Every now and then, she would look back over her shoulder, the glint in her green eyes letting me know that she was fully enjoying her little act.

We flew down the narrow and dangerous roads, attempting to keep up with Kaida's act of jumping over random things lying all over the place, tossing obstacles in our way and more or less wreaking havoc to anyone she passed along the way. Whole stands went down by her hands, and it was almost too much to keep up with the shadowbender's antics. It wasn't until a few minutes into the chase that I discovered a way out of it.

Up ahead in the road, a child's wagon lay skewed haphazardly across her path. In that moment, I made a split decision to play up the acting a bit. I shouted something, the first thing that came into my head, and Kaida looked back purposefully, locking eyes with me and intentionally keeping her eyes off the road.

"You just try it-whaa!"

In a perfectly played out 'trip', Kaida was on the ground, rubbing her head distractedly. Uncle and I caught up easily, kicking the wagon out of the way and forcing her to her knees. While I tied up her hands and attempted to shoo away several crowds gathering around us, Uncle kept himself busy with explaining to her one last time how to reach the respective chambers for the different aged slaves. To any outsider, however, he could easily have been threatening her not to run away from us again. True to her part, the shadowbender glared hatefully at the old man, gritting her teeth.

I pulled Kaida up by her hands, making sure to do it just rough enough so as not to hurt her for real. Uncle taking her left arm, and I her right, we tediously started a path for the palace's working quarters. None of us spoke until the very end of the lengthy trip. I didn't know what was going through Uncle or Kaida's minds the entire way there, but I was already planning out every escape route I knew in case something went wrong. I didn't know why, but I couldn't shake the notion. It was stuck in my mind, and wasn't about to go away.

Finally, the palace came into view, and I almost had to close my eyes at the sight to keep myself in check. Never in all my life had I thought that _this _would be the reason for my return to this place; that it would be under circumstances like this.

"Remember," Uncle spoke in a hurried whisper. "Zuko and I will stay as close as possible. As soon as you have them, meet us in the courtyard so we can leave quickly."

"Got it," Kaida responded promptly, a look of pure determination crossing her face. "Anything to add, sparky?" I looked over at the acknowledgement, only one real suggestion coming to mind at her words.

"Don't die."

"Deal," Kaida promised, a grin splitting her face as she met my eyes. I could see it in them that there was no chance of that. Everything in her expression spoke of unparalleled willpower. She would not be brought down today. So I decided that neither would I. We would all make it out of this alive if we had to cut down the entire fire nation army in the process.

However, that resolve was about to meet its first challenger.

"Hey, hey. What's going on here?"

The palace's main guard, a stocky man who's name I couldn't quite remember, was encroaching on us, suspicion clear in his maple wood eyes. This was the first true test of our acting capabilities, and luckily I would not have to say a word, seeing that Uncle was there to take it up.

"This slave girl somehow escaped," he answered in a perfectly believable tone. "We are escorting her back to the holding rooms." The man huffed, leaning in as if to get a better look at Kaida, our 'captured slave.' As if to prove the point, and also in what I assumed was personal gratification, the shadowbender spit at the guard, causing him to draw back, his nose wrinkled in distaste.

"Very well," he answered, now eyeing Kaida as a threat. "And make sure she gets punished appropriately."

"Of course," Uncle and I answered in what was supposedly a protocol answer, moving as quickly into the palace as we could without being blatantly obvious. As soon as the colossal doors of the main entrance had boomed shut, our snare-like grips on Kaida dropped, making her stumble the slightest bit. She glared at the door, as if it had offended her.

"Remind me to cut that one later," she muttered, then turned around. The shock was clear in her eyes as she surveyed the unimpressive entryway.

"Spirits," the shadowbender whispered. "Still can't believe you lived here." I shrugged, brushing it off as nothing, even though, in reality, I could relate to how she felt. It wasn't until I was long banished that I realized how much I'd had back at home.

We speed-walked down the oversized hallways toward the slave's quarters, praying the whole time that no one cut us off before we could get there. Once or twice, there was the sound of footsteps in a far-off corridor, and Uncle and I would have to grab Kaida's arms at the last second, but whoever it was never made it to the main hallway where we were. Regardless, though, our nerves were about fried by the time we finally made it to where we were going.

Kaida's hand was on the handle of the thick, wooden door before we could say anything, but she stopped and looked back at us, something seemingly crossing her cluttered mind.

"Maybe this is a bad time," she smirked, still the cocky, overconfident girl she had been when I'd first met her. However, something was different now. Something had changed. "But I wanted to get this out in case we die." Always the optimist. Uncle and I waited while she took a breath, letting her eyes slip shut for a short moment. Finally, she went on.

"Thanks," she said shortly, amusement in her eyes. "Both of you. Thanks for helping me get here."

"Of course," Uncle replied, his voice softened considerably from before. I could tell Kaida had grown on him lately. The shadowbender reached a hand behind her head, her smirk growing in something that almost looked like emberrassment.

"Yeah," she continued, her tone casual again. "You were right. I never could have gotten anywhere trying to sell Zuko."

"Right. What _were _you thinking," I muttered sarcastically, internally rolling my eyes.

Suddenly, the air grew sober as it dawned on the both of us that whatever happened after this moment was up in the air. There was no guarantee that either of us would come back from this. Kaida stared at the ground, as if afraid to meet either mine or Uncles eyes, and the silence stretched on as her face grew more and more uncertain. I decided that now was _my_ turn to keep _her _going.

"Don't tell me you're scared already," I taunted. Her head raised a fraction, a fire suddenly blazing beneath Kaida's emerald eyes.

"Not a chance," she answered as easily as ever. "I'll see you all after I take this place down."

And with that, Kaida Hotaru, the world's last shadowbender, took my hand for a frozen moment, her eyes boring into mine, before she pulled the door open and disappeared behind it without another moment's hesitation. I simply stared at the mahogany entrance, my hand tingling inexplicably, until Uncle regained my attention by reattaching his helmet. I copied, leaving the rest of it all behind.

We had work to do.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I grinned as I took my first step into the fire nation's slave quarters.

Apparently, the men and women held separate jobs, since all I could see were females mulling around, washing dishes and cooking and such. That was fine, though. It would actually make finding Leila and Grandma a lot easier. I ran and reran Iroh's directions silently in my head, trying to find the specific area of the enormous room that I was searching for.

I internally let out a breath of relief over having gone so 'overboard' with my attempt to filthy up my outfit. Zuko had outwardly thought that it was a bit too much, but looking around now, I knew that I had only just done enough to pass as an actual captive. Most others were in a far worse condition, and I was only barely fitting in. I tried to get a good look at everyone in the room while still appearing to have a purpose there.

More than a couple footmen were prowling around, making sure that everyone was being worked. It was a time when my insignificant height came in handy. I slipped out of their line of view each time before being caught.

Somewhere along the line, I noticed something going on in the corner that caught my attention. Apparently, some slave girl had failed to do her work up to one of the foot soldier's standards, and was getting an earful over it. He stood over the girl, blocking her from my view with his bulk and excessive hand movements. Stepping closer to the scene, I pricked my ears to listen in on what had happened.

"It won't happen again," the girl panted, clearly about to collapse. "I swear."

"That's exactly what you said last week," the man towering over her exclaimed, his voice enough to frighten most people. Somehow, though, I had the feeling that most fire nation men were all talk and no walk. Or maybe I just hated them all too much to care if they were dangerous or not. Either way, his tone did nothing to stop me from intervening in on his little discipline chat.

_Here, now. Let's pick on someone our own size._

"I promise," the girl continued. I couldn't help but resent the sound of her voice. She was so young; a baby really. My anger at the fire nation flared.

"Well, you know what? That isn't good enough anym-"

"Oi," I interrupted; quite rudely, actually, but what did I care? "Someone sent me to replace this girl for the day. Firelord's orders." I tossed my thumb over my shoulder casually, as if the firelord were right behind me, backing me up.

The foot soldier stared at me for a moment, but apparently I looked confident enough in my purpose there that he didn't feel the need to question it. Instead, he simply backed off the little girl on the floor, taking up what he probably thought was a dignified stance.

"About time," he scoffed, stepping away without another word. I watched him leave distrustfully before turning my eyes on the girl.

She gaped up up me from the ground, and it didn't take long for the pieces to fall together in my mind. Her long, curly midnight hair was completely filthy, random curls sticking out haphazardly at odd angles, and her china blue eyes were the size of saucepans. I smirked, astounding even myself at the luck that happened to find me at all the right times.

"You alright?" I quizzed, reaching down to pull the younger girl up from the floor. She closed her mouth with some effort, taking my hand and standing up shakily.

"I'm fine, yeah," she answered, shaking her head as if to shake off what had just happened. I grinned, not waiting for her to collect herself.

"That's good," I replied slyly. "I can't have you all beat up if we're going to be breaking out of here. Right, Leila?" My amusement only extended as I watched the play of emotions in my cousin's eyes go from confusion, to suspicion, and finally to disbelief. Her eyes resumed their previous level of shock as she attempted to get out a question, but only managed to say one thing.

"K-kaida!"

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Yay! One down, one to go. Although, I'm not sure how I feel about Kaida finding her so quickly. Oh, bujeezus, what am I talking about? I'm the author! Oh, well. What's done is done. Click the shiny review button!**


	35. Chapter 35

**I AM FORCED . . . TO EAT LUNCH**

_"I never worry about action;  
only inaction."  
-Winston Churchill_

I grinned down at my cousin, pulling her up by the arm, but gave her a very clear warning gaze. We were in a danger zone, here. She promptly pressed her lips together, but her electric-blue eyes were excited.

"Just start working again," I murmured quietly, so that no one else would be able to hear. "I'll copy whatever you do."

Leila gave a nearly indiscernible nod, then bent over the floor, tossing me a wet rag and avoiding my eyes at any cost. I mirrored her image, stooping over on my hands and knees and scrubbing at a nonexistant smudge on the cool, marble ground. I supposed I had gotten lucky that the fire soldiers watching over us didn't choose to remember any particular faces or names of the servants. The man who had been yelling at Leila never asked why he'd never seen me before. Any and all suspecting eyes passed unknowingly over our ragged forms as we pretended to be focused on our work.

"I can't believe it," I heard Leila whisper, but kept my eyes on my right hand.

"Trust me, Lei, neither can I," I replied quietly.

And, the truth was, I really_ couldn't _believe it. Not only had I managed to sneak my way into the fire nation undetected, but I had managed to find half my missing family in an unbelievably short amount of time. What had once been an impossible feat had recently dropped down a level. Now it was a _nearly_ impossible feat. There was a time when that wouldn't have been much of an improvement, but at the moment it was the best gift ever. My morale was suddenly triple what it had been that morning and a million times what it had been just a month or two ago. It seemed that, for once, fate was choosing to be my advocate, and I wasn't about to let that slip.

Leila looked like she didn't know whether to be excited or frightened that I was there. I supposed that in her mind I had no clue what I was doing. In truth, I couldn't deny that there were some very unfilled voids in our plan, but what I did know was rock solid thanks to Iroh and Zuko. No doubt, had I'd tried to pull this plan off by myself, I would have quickly realized that I knew next to nothing about the inner workings of the fire nation. It was all because of my two unlikely companions that I had any idea what was going on.

"How on _earth_ did you get here," Leila pressed, her soprano voice dripping with astonishment. I considered that while quietly smirking at her disbelief. I remembered that even as an eleven year old and her at the age of eight I had always managed to worry my cousin with my not-so-smart activities. I'd climb too high in some tree, fall out and it would be Leila who would have to pull me back to our village, sniffling and bleeding, while she lectured me, despite the fact that I was older.

"It's . . . a very long and complicated story," I settled, not knowing how to sum it all up without taking hours. "Tell you what. I'll give you the whole story after we bring this place down, deal?" Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Leila smile.

"Deal."

A harsh whistle sounded, the noise ringing up my ears and setting me back on edge. I grimmaced, realizing that I had almost forgotten where we were. Out of nowhere, all the girls in the workroom picked up their rags and buckets. They were like walking dead as they filed over to a corner, dropping their cleaning supplies, then shuffling through a door near the back of the room in a mindless sort of way. Leila tugged on my arm.

"What's going on?" I asked her, trying to seem inconspicuous.

"Lunch break," she replied softly, not letting go of my arm for a few long moments as she stared into my now-conflicted face.

I hesitated, my eyes inexplicably finding the entrance I'd come through. Somewhere, on the other side of that thick, wooden door, Zuko and Iroh were out there making sure I didn't die. They were putting their lives on the line to assure that our plan worked out, and now I was headed in the complete opposite direction. I bit my llip hard, wondering what they would do if I didn't meet back up with them on time. Walking through that door could jeopardize the entire mission just as much as _not _walking through it could.

My stomach involuntarily twisted in warning, but there didn't seem to be a choice. It was either eat lunch, or get killed, and I could _not _afford to die there. I took one last look back at the freedom I'd once had, and I never would have thought that I would want to run back to where Zuko was so badly. Hating the fire nation even more, I grudgingly played my part and went alongside my cousin, despising every waking second of it.

After a short walk through a stone-grey hallway, we let out into a kind of giant courtyard. The sun filtered past the broken clouds and into the open, spaceous area, hitting my face like a warm sheet. As our group diffused out, people slowly began to talk with one another in hushed voices. It might even have been pleasent if it wasn't for the enormous, ugly wall lining the extensive perimeter, with brutish-looking firebenders prowling around giving everyone threatening glares. They sort of killed the mood.

Leila led me to a cramped, but secluded table in the far corner, and I followed, trusting that she knew the area and people there far better than I did. She sat down and motioned for me to copy, her cobalt eyes darting around to make sure nobody was going to try listening in. While we waited for the crowds around us to die down and settle in, I took a moment to look over my younger cousin again. This time, I got a much better picture of how she had changed.

She definitely looked a lot older than she had the last time I'd seen her, three years ago when our village was raided. At the same time, though, she was so much younger than a lot of the others around; only just twelve years old. Her corkscrew hair was longer, now down to her waist, and wild to the point of being scary. She was covered in filth from head to toe, and her palms were scraped up.

Then came the things that were not so physical. She looked exceedingly tired - both physically and mentally - and there was something distinctly hardened about her face. It was like being there for the past three years had made her stronger, while simultaneously breaking her down. She had learned to deal with and put up with much more than she had back in the village. No one there had tried to beat or hurt her, after all. She hadn't had to be on guard twenty-four-seven.

She had definitely changed, but underneath it all she was still my baby cousin.

Leila's eyes flashed violently, alerting me to something I wasn't aware of, before she quickly reigned it in and began to fidget distractedly with her fingernails. My eyes narrowed, but I understood as a firebender made his rounds by our little, meeting table, leering at the both of us then sauntering off to the next group. Right. I had already forgotten about the excess guards prowling around and getting into other people's business. They would pose a problem.

"This won't be easy," Leila frowned, worry diffused in her azure eyes as they clung to the bender's retreating form.

"We'll talk quickly, then," I amended, as if it would really be such a simple task. Regardless of my flawed resolve, though, Leila nodded, pulling her gaze back to me. I waited to see if she would speak first.

"You . . . you shouldn't be here, Kaida," she informed me, the hesitation in her voice letting me know that despite the fact that she believed what she was saying, there was a part of her that was overjoyed at seeing me there in front of her. I shook my head, nonverbally dismissing her statement.

"I'm never where I should be," I clarified. "So, what's the deal here?" Leila's face puckered as she watched another bender drift annoyingly close to our table before answering my question.

"There's not much to tell. We eat. We sleep. We work," she stated, running dully through the list that her uneventful days was composed of. "It's not like anyone ever tries to break out. You're insane for even coming to this place."

"Even with the access they give you to water?" I asked doubtfully, ignoring the part about me being insane. I had been surprised that they were allowed within even a hundred yards of any running liquid, much less permitted to use it on a daily basis. The fire guards must have severely outmatched their captives in order for them to give the prisoners of war that much freedom.

"It's not like we're all waterbenders here," Leila replied sadly. "Only a few of us are, and we're not crazy enough to try anything." She sighed, fiddling with her dark hair.

Suddenly, there was a deafening crash as two armour-clad soldiers thundered through the back door without warning. One of them held up a trifling slip of paper, calling out a name foreign to my ears.

"Uh, oh," Leila muttered.

A woman with straight, brown hair stood up stiffly, her eyes devoid of fear. She looked to be in her twenties and her body was hardened from what could only have been years of laboring for the fire nation. She stepped up to the footmen, her expression that of solid granite as they took her by the arms and led her out. There were no words involved in the exchange, but that didn't make it any less intense. The group she stood near watched as she was led across the clearing, their mouths hanging open in shock and horror. The door slammed harshly behind the trio and the courtyard suddenly became very tight-lipped. For a short moment, everyone was still.

"Who was that?" I asked my cousin, eyeing the door the woman had been taken through. Leila's eyes were somber as she explained.

"Kimiko. She's always been defiant, but last week she threw a searing cup of water into Commander Zhao's face after he tried to grab her wrist," she informed me softly, glancing around to make sure we weren't being listened in on. "She'd been asking for it for a while. It was only a matter of time before someone important got fed up with her behavior and took Kimi into custody." My cousin's voice was sad, but it was clear that she thought that this Kimiko had had it coming.

"Where are they taking her?" I questioned, as if knowing would somehow make a difference.

"Probably to the main prison house," Leila answered, shuddering a bit. "Every now and then, the guards will have to come in and take someone out if they start to cause too much trouble. That's where they all seem to end up afterward. They're terrified of a revolt, so they lock the questionable ones away."

I didn't say anything, but some part of my mind had to wonder what the difference was. What made going to prison any worse than staying there? Either way, they would be watched by someone at all times, forced to participate in a set schedule and work when they weren't eating or sleeping. Maybe that was right in line with what this girl had been thinking. After all, if she was going to be forced to do the same grueling thing regardless of where she was, then I supposed that it probably felt good to show up the authority a little before they took her out.

So, that was what the world had come to, I realized. As long as you're going to kill me anyway, I may as well show you that you can never truly control me. That was the mentality of the fire nation's slaves.

Another snooping guard passed by our table, forcing the two of us into a tense silence once again. My mind tugged me back to the palace hallway. No doubt Zuko and Iroh had already left that place and were working on their part of the plan. It was as simple as it was deadly: lead as many guards away from the slave's quarters as possible. I internally wondered how many people they would be able to lie to before somebody noticed what was going on. If someone higher up - a lieutenant or admiral - realized that there were spies amongst them, then things would get heated up pretty fast. I was on a time limit, here.

"I know where Grandma is," my cousin whispered, her voice barely audible, even in the already-hushed courtyard. I leaned forward unconsciously, noticing that she had purposely waited for all the guards to be on the other side of the clearing before speaking about why I was really there. I was stopped short at her sudden admission, having to regain my train of thought before answering her.

"Where?"

"The infirmary," Leila replied, her pace picking up a bit as my mind began to reel once again. So, she wasn't so doubtful of my plan after all. "Small children and the elderly work there because it's easier."

"You think we could get to her?" I asked intently, grimacing as she bit her lip, looking as if she regretted speaking so quickly. Of course she didn't think that, or she would have gotten out by then. I looked around casually, willing my mind to make itself useful. Apparently, my mind was willing to comply with my demands that day, because an idea wiggled its way into my consciousness.

I looked over at my cousin briefly, the edges of my mouth twitching slightly. Spirits, she was going to hate me for this.

"Come with me, Lei," I said, not meeting my cousin's eyes as I rose purposefully from the table and took a hold of her thin wrist.

"Why?" Leila demanded in a non-threatening way. She never was very threatening. "What are you going to do, Kaida?" Despite the fact that I wasn't looking at her face, the dread couldn't have been clearer in the waterbender's voice. I slung my arm over her frail shoulder as I guided her in the direction of a group of guards.

"Kaida, answer me," my cousin prompted, trying to push my arm away. I didn't answer but held tight to her like a snare. I knew how bad Leila's acting skills were. Her reaction would only be believable if she didn't realize what I was planning.

I leaned heavily onto the waterbender, putting almost all of my weight against her shoulder. She stopped unknowingly, struggling to keep the both of us vertical. I moaned loudly, pressing my palm to the side of my head and making sure everyone noticed what was happening . . . or what I was pretending to make happen. This was one of the times that it helped to be so unnaturally pale; I could feign being sick, even when I wasn't. Leila stumbled, unable to keep her balance with me adding to her burden.

I let myself fall shakily onto my knees, laying the theatrics on thick. There were mutters and shushes from the other captives as they looked on, obviously trying to figure out what was wrong with the new girl. From the dim corner of my eyes I saw Leila bend over next to me. And I couldn't be sure, but I could have sworn that I saw a flare spike over the courtyard wall. Not a good sign.

"Kaida," my cousin hissed in my ear. "You're out of your mind. No one is going to believe you, whatever you're trying to put on." She pulled me halfway back onto my feet, her arms shaking a bit from the effort. I let her. By that point, a few of the firebenders had begun to drift in our direction; not quite close enough to appear to care, but still close enough to have given them away. I rested my chin on Leila's shoulder, closing my eyes as I dropped even more of my weight onto her thin frame.

"Trust me," I whispered very slowly, before completely passing out onto the twelve year old girl. Leila let out a startled cry as she attempted to catch me but only ended up toppling over as well. Thankfully she didn't drop me, though, or it would have been a trying project to keep my 'unconscious' act up.

"What's going on here?" a woman's voice interrogated harshly, as if she had far better things to be doing than babysitting a bunch of war prisoners.

"I - she p-passed out," Leila answered, not sounding quite as believable as I had thought she might. Instead, she sounded like she just wanted to get the words out of her mouth before she had the chance to say the wrong thing. They must have been relatively sincere, though, because I was soon being lifted off the ground by someone far stronger than myself while the woman guard huffed in annoyance.

"Whatever," she answered my cousin in an irritated tone. "Happens sometimes. Just have to send her useless-"

"You again?" someone cut the woman off, and there were the scrapes of footfalls as whoever it was who had interrupted her approached.

"I'm s-"

"Don't start with that, again," he intervened, and this time I recognized the hardened voice. It was the officer who'd been yelling at Leila before. "Agni, I knew this 'replacement' one would be just as useless as you." It took a surprising amount of willpower for my body not to tense up at this. After all, I hadn't fought my way all the way into the fire nation just to listen to my cousin get treated like garbage.

_Be quiet, dummy_, I instructed myself. _You're not awake, remember?_

"I ca-" Leila tried again, only to be halted a second time.

"No," the man said curtly, as if he were having a difficult time controlling the tone of his voice. "I don't want to hear it." There was a small, feminine sigh of defeat.

"Yes, sir-"

"Hush," he replied, quickly dismissing the waterbender's words of submission. "In fact, just go to the infirmary with her. You're completely worthless right now, anyway. Maybe they'll fix you."

"Yes, sir."

I held my breath. The relief in Leila's voice was almost something to be suspicious of, but, once again, the guards were all but oblivious to what was going on. It seemed they had already occupied themselves with arguing over who got to butt into the other's conversations without permission. My limp body rocked back and forth with the bender who had me uncomfortably in their grip.

The murmurings and loud whispers became even more promenant as we neared the door, rising in volume and becoming almost a buzz of voices until the footmen told them to shut up and eat. They obeyed without question, but I could still feel their wary gazes on both Leila and I as we were escorted out. With a brass _click_, the door was wretched open and held for a moment as we passed through the ominous barrier.

Slowly - ever so slowly - the panel creaked as it swung back into it's spot. I waited, breath bated, for the telltale thump that would let me know that the door had finally closed. Maybe it was just me, but the world had gone cold silent. The squeaky door became louder as it fell backward, then finally . . .

_Thump._

I smiled. Now, the plan begun.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: Wassup? Thanks to reviewers as usual! You guys crack me up and make me so happy. 8) -B**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**THE PLAN GOES WRONG**

_"No matter how many times I get hurt because of you,  
I won't leave you.  
Because even if I have a hundred reasons to leave you,  
I'll look for that one reason to fight for you."_

Leila's fingers tightened around her opposite wrist, attempting to put some pressure on the deep gash in her arm that was now gushing blood all over the place. She was pouting faintly, and I had the feeling she wasn't very happy with me, either.I didn't know if I was bleeding as well, but I was sure I had one heck of a bruise on my cheek from knocking our escort unconscious. I sighed internally. Well, at least we looked like we were in need of actual medical care, now.

It was a feat trying to hold in my surprise at the time when Leila had turned out to have a far better punching arm than I would have ever imagined. It seemed that three years in the fire nation had actually done something good for the girl. Our poor guard had hardly even stood a chance with the two of us ganged up on him like that. Sure, afterward my cousin had looked on the verge of hysteria and it had taken quite a bit to calm her down enough for us to refocus on the plan, but she had still proven herself quite helpful in the long run.

I peered through the clean, glass door of the medical building before pulling it open. If I ever got captured by the fire nation, then I knew this was where I would want to end up. Everything was a soft white, completely sterile and smelled of fire lilies. The room was checkered with enormous windows, so the sunlight poured in through the walls, and everything was spaced out; airy. I felt like I was finally able to take a decent breath; the first one in months.

We began to walk, and I caught myself actually putting valuable effort into trying not to track mud all over the calming, azure floors. Over in the corner, a group of small children were playing a clapping game, while elderly captives, mostly women, drifted around, replacing ice packs and checking patient's temperatures. It was like an island of paradise; peace and quiet, right smack in the middle of complete and utter chaos.

"Hello, children," an aging woman with overlarge glasses addressed us. "Is everything alright?" Not knowing how to answer, I looked to Leila, who thankfully knew what she was doing.

"We were in a machinery accident," she answered, sounding exactly like she was lying. The woman smiled warmly and nodded, noticing absolutely nothing wrong with Leila's horrible attempt to make up a story. I almost shook my head and laughed at it all.

"Alrighty, then," she replied, fixing up the tie in her cottonball hair. "Follow me and we'll get you both cleaned up in no time."

Leilla and I obeyed willingly. I wanted nothing more than to be able to lie down, even if it was just for a few short minutes while we located our grandmother. The elderly nurse led us to a pair of cots, sitting right next to each other. I fell back onto mine immediately, not caring that it was - or would have been, under any other circumstances - completely uncomfortable. My eyes slipped shut, as I told myself that I only needed a minute or two. Then I'd be right back up and back on the mission.

"How are we going to find grandma?" I asked with my eyes still shut in relief, knowing that the old woman wouldn't be able to hear a word I said, as long as I kept it down. Leila shifted in her bed, the frame squeaking slightly.

"We have maybe ten minutes before she comes back here," my cousin answered softly."She's on her lunch break right now as well."

I sighed, letting myself sink even further back into the bed. That gave me time to rest, then. I only needed a bit . . .

_Ping, ping, ping!_

"Wha?" I felt myself bolt vertical, trying very hard to remember where I was. There was the continual sound of metal against a glass door, and I could see Leila scrambling to push the thin sheets of the cot off her body. Every few seconds, she would look over her shoulder at the very transparent curtain surrounding our beds, like she expected it to be ripped away any moment. What was she freaking out for? Had she never heard someone knock on a door before?

"Kaida," my cousin hissed, shaking me violently by the shoulders and out of my stupor. "C'mon, get up! We have to go and hide. They've found out we're missing."

The puzzle pieces slowly hooked themselves together in my mind as I realized that I must have fallen asleep in my cot by accident. I slung my legs over the edge of the chilly bed, spying a supply closet that would be just big enough to fit the both of us. Apparently, Leila had the same idea, because she set a straight trajectory for the tiny room the exact same time that I did.

I let the waterbender in first, squishing myself in next to her and pulling the door shut the second we were both inside. The tight room was humid on the inside, and I could hear Leila's anxiety-ridden breath in my ear as she attempted to quiet it. My hand stayed soldered to the handle, as if I actually stood a chance in a game of tug-of-war against anyone who might or might not try to pry it open in search of us. I held my breath, sorting through things in my mind as I gratefully listened to the elderly women outside deny ever having seen us come through. I wasn't sure if she was protecting us, or if she was just so senile that she'd already forgotten about us, but it was pure luck either way.

So, this was the breaking point. If that many guards had managed to get all the way over to the medical building, then that meant one of two things: either Iroh and Zuko had caught on to the growing suspicions of the other fire benders and had high-tailed it out of there, or they had been captured. I was literally praying under my breath that it was the first one.

"And you're positive you didn't see a pair of teenage girls run by anywhere near here?"

I bit my lip at the words.

There's nothing quite like knowing someone is hunting you down. The nameless bender's voice was muffled my the door, but that was nowhere close to being a comforting factor. Instead, it simply made me feel more increasingly like we were trapped. I had the urge to send Leila on ahead while I fought my way out, just to be sure she made it. There was also the clanking of the other guards' impractical uniforms outside as they scoured the medical ward for my cousin and I.

"Don't open the closet," I whispered to the wall, feeling my own, hot breath in my face. "Not the closet . . ."

I wasn't sure why I was so jumpy all of a sudden. Even trapped in a broom closet with at least five fire benders tearing the outside room apart looking for me, I wouldn't normally have gotten so tensed up. I just about jumped out of my skin every time Leila shifted next to me, and my heartbeat was so loud that it was messing with my hearing as well. Maybe it was because I was all alone and had to watch my cousin's back, too, or maybe it was simply because I was so close to achieving my goal that I could almost taste it. I wasn't sure, but either way my incinerated nerves weren't going to put up with much more of it.

"Mmm . . . nope." The old woman outside chirped brightly, despite the two hundred pound fire bender that had to have been right up in her face by that point. "Although, I thought I saw someone run by a while ago . . ." There was an irritated growl.

"Come on, boys," the fire bender called; annoyed now. "They've already been by here. Let's head them off outside the gates."

My chest literally deflated as the sound of steel footsteps faded away, and the quiet descended upon the hospital room once again. Leila made a move to reach around my waist and push the door open, but I caught her wrist before she could get a grasp on the handle. She jumped a bit at the sudden and unexpected physical contact.

"Not yet," I instructed, hearing her swallow audibly at my back. I pressed my right ear to the door, straining my hearing to listen through the solid wood panel. There was a soft sound through the wall; something that I couldn't quite put a name to. I exerted my ears further, pressing up to the door in an attempt to make sure it was safe to leave.

In seconds, the solid mahogany disappeared beneath my body, and I fell through the opening where the door no longer held me up. Suddenly, I was on the ground, straining to squint through the white light bathing my vision. I blinked up at the ceiling as my eyes adjusted, and the dark figure hovering over me became visible.

"Nice to see you can still manage to get into trouble, Kaida."

I grinned, still lying on my back.

"Grandma," I addressed my grandmother, accepting the hand she lent down to help me up. Her cobalt eyes crinkled slightly at the greeting, before she looked over her shoulder toward the front door. The old woman with the puffball hair nodded an okay back at us.

"Kami told me you two were hiding in a supply closet," she informed me with a pointed, but vaguely amused look. "Do I even want to know how many crimes you had to commit to sneak yourself into the fire nation, Kaida?" I laughed shakily, fiddling with the back of my outfit. Even after three years of separation, the old woman still managed to make me feel guilty about something.

"Probably not."

"Fair enough," my grandmother replied, readjusting the old, water tribe pendant that she kept hidden under her robes. "So, what do you plan to do now?"

I bit my cheek, narrowing my gaze to the side. A few of the patients that had started staring pretended to be asleep as I turned their way. I huffed at the suspicion that followed me everywhere and tried with no luck to come up with an answer. Sure, I knew what I _planned _to do next, but that didn't mean that I was entirely sure how to do it. Iroh had said to meet up with them in the courtyard, but what if I couldn't find the courtyard? What if I lost someone? What if _they _lost someone? What if they didn't show up at all?

Anxieties that I hadn't even realized were there, in the back of my mind, quickly started surfacing as I realized that maybe I wasn't entirely prepared for this mission I'd all but thrown myself into.

_Pull it together, woman! _I mentally slapped myself.

"I - we're supposed to meet up with some people in the main courtyard of the palace," I explained, struggling to recall if I'd seen a courtyard anywhere near the palace. I supposed I had been too focused on my acting job at the time to notice anything. My grandmother's eyes magnified at the mention of someone else involved in my faulty escape plan.

"Who else is here with you?" Leila questioned before my grandmother could. I almost laughed at the waterbender's eagerness. Boy, wouldn't she like to know.

"Trust me Lei," I avoided. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Apparently, they both knew me well enough to take that comment seriously, because they didn't ask again. Instead, my grandmother went to speak quietly with the elderly woman up at the front of the room, near the door. The woman nodded vigorously at something she said, then - most shockingly of all - approached the door, sliding a key into the lock. I almost ran over and stopped the woman myself.

They were locking the guards out.

My grandmother thanked the old captive, returning to Leila and I.

"What is she doing?" my cousin interrogated immediately, her question pulling the words right out of my mouth, for once. "This will get them all into so much trouble. Think of the punishment-"

"Never mind that, now," she cut in sternly, prompting us through the rear hallway and turning to look at me. "If you came all the way here, then we're not just going to let you get caught," she reasoned. "Besides, what would your friends think if you didn't show up?"

Oh, I had a few ideas.

Shaking off the pressing guilt, I picked the pace up again, wondering if I would ever get the chance to thank the old woman for her help. The hallway let out into the herb gardens that grew all alongside the infirmary. We stayed low to the foliage, shielding ourselves with whatever we could to avoid getting noticed. We had to look like complete idiots to each other, hiding behind bushes and bamboo plants, but it kept us from being spotted by anyone else.

The gardens weren't entirely devoid of life, however. Every couple of yards a cat-owl would come tearing out of the shrubbery, or an elephant-rat would run across the pavement, and grandma and I would be forced to cover Leila's mouth before she could scream and attract the attention of any unwanted guests possibly strolling through the gardens at that time.

As we made our gradual way through the flora, small things began to look familiar; little bells ringing in my mind as we passed them. I noticed, to my left, the outside of the wall around the slaves eating quarters where Leila and I had caused a scene earlier. Up ahead, there was the familiar silhouette of the main palace hall.

As if to contradict that familiarity, though, I easily spotted signs of trouble all around. Several sakura trees had the edges of their leaves singed off, and the strong smell of burnt wood hung in the humid atmosphere. Something had happened there. Maybe it was nothing; maybe it hadn't even involved _my_ firebenders at all, but my mind was running away from me. I found myself envisioning everything that could possibly have gone wrong in my absence. Every worst-case scenario I could conjure up came crashing into me mentally; each one worse than the one before it.

It was a relief when we finally made it across the seemingly-endless expanse of herb plants and strange-looking animals that were taking refuge within them. I think Leila was especially glad, seeing that her nerves had her on the verge of hysteria by that point, and I wondered if the fire nation could have also possibly made the girl even jumpier than before.

It was just a brief walk down another hallway, and we were stepping into the palace's grand hall - for me, the second time that day. I stopped then, taking a long look around the enormous room. It seemed incredibly stupid that I hadn't thought to ask Iroh where this mysterious courtyard happened to be. But that was just me, wasn't it? Oh, no. I never thought before I acted. I just charged into things and thought about how stupid it was later. I mentally cursed my eternal bad planning skills and flare for dramatic exits, proceeding to tramp down the marble-floored hall in irritation.

"Kaida!"

At the sound of Leila's desperate scream, my instincts had me running back to where she was, but someone caught my arm. When all I saw was a glimpse of was saffron-stained armor, I let loose a punch. Unfortunately, the fire guard stopped my fist, bringing it in and holding my arms to my sides. I struggled, knowing that if there was one, then there had to be more.

"Kaida," the guard commanded in a soothing but serious voice - or, more importantly, a familiar voice. "Keep you voice down, please."

"Iroh," I realized as the old man let me go. He pulled the soldier's helmet off, revealing his face to my family where they stood by the wall. It was then that I noticed the pile of sand-colored cloth in his other arm; the one he had not been using to detain me with.

I gauged my relative's reactions in the brief pause after I took in the general's appearance. Although my grandmother's face was impassive toward Iroh's presence there, the mix of shock and distrust in my cousin's features told me that she knew very well who this iron-clad man was. Oh, well. They'd find out later that Iroh was nothing like their idea of a typical fire nation general.

All we had to do, now, was focus on getting out unspotted. Something was sending pangs down to my stomach, though, about the situation. Maybe it was the tense atmosphere of having a firebender and a waterbender in the same vicinity, or maybe it was the way Iroh seemed to be really trying to rush the situation . . .

"There isn't much time," the retired general informed me, simultaneously stepping closer to Leila and my grandmother and handing them each one of the tan bundles of cloth, which turned out to be three, floor-length cloaks. I had seen several like them in the supply closet in the infirmary. "I have our exit route into the country outside the Royal City cleared out for the moment. The guards won't stay away for long, though. Once we are out, we can board Mr. and Mrs. Yuumi's ship and-"

"Where's Zuko?"

I immediately realized why our reunion had seemed so odd, just then. Zuko wasn't there calling me hopelessly lost and mocking me for my apparent lack of an internal sense of direction. In fact, the hot-headed prince wasn't anywhere to be seen. I searched Iroh's dark gold eyes, waiting for him to explain the prince's inexplicable absence in the empty hallway.

Suddenly, the old general was suspiciously tight-lipped. Maybe it was due to the fact that after that whole, hurried explanation, all I had the audacity to ask was where sparky was, but I didn't think that was the only reason.

"Don't worry about that, right now, Kaida," Iroh replied, all but forcing the tawny cloak into my hands. "I'm going to have to go back for him after I get you all out."

"What?" I inquired stubbornly, as he ushered Grandma, Leila and I down the opposite way we'd come. "Hey, wait, what happened? I saw something catch fire over the lunch-room wall earlier. Was that you guys?" Our legs were moving swiftly, now, rather than sneaking monotonously around the palace. The old man must have been very confident that he'd gotten rid of all guards, because we were making an unsafe amount of noise at the pace we were going. Iroh sighed very sharply.

"We were found out numerous times," he explained in a paraphrase. "After you started taking longer than we had expected, Zuko and I had no choice but to get out or risk being discovered on a much larger scale." We had turned a corner and were heading down a musty, older-looking corridor, now. Old paintings of former firelords and princes flew by at a color-blurring speed.

"And?" I prompted. That obviously wasn't the whole story. There had to be more to it, and I was going to fish it out of him whether he wanted me to or not.

"We waited in the courtyard for a bit longer, but Zuko was getting impatient," Iroh expanded, his voice darkening considerably. "He went back to the slave's quarters to find you."

My legs stiffened as I dug my heels into the ground to stop our movement all together. Iroh initially pushed harder on my back, but I refused to budge, and there was nothing he was going to be able to do about it. I was not going to move another inch down that passage until someone offered a solution; a_ better _solution than the one Iroh had come up with.

"Kaida, please," the old man said in a strainedly calm tone. "We can only deal with one problem at a time. After you and your family are safely outside the Royal City, I'm going to come back in here for my nephew, but we have to trust that he can last until then." Yeah, right. I wouldn't bet my life on it.

"Well, then why don't we deal with two problems at the same time," I offered stubbornly, handing my cloak back to him. "You get my family to safety, and I'll go find the princess." Iroh frowned, and I knew he didn't think that it was a smart idea, but I didn't care. We couldn't just leave Zuko running around the fire nation, where three-fourths of the population wanted to skewer him on sight.

"Are you sure that is a wise decision, Kaida?" the general inquired dubiously, his tone turning exasperated. "Just think about what you are saying for a moment."

"It will save time, and possibly him, if he's been caught," I reasoned, pulling my hair back with a leather tie so it wouldn't get in my way while I ran. "And you know how to get out of here better than I do. I need you to take care of Leila and my grandmother and get them away from this place." My voice sounded confident; a good sign for both me and the others.

Iroh didn't speak, but his eyes were doing the speaking for him. He was worried. Somehow, I didn't like that. It was one thing for Leila to be worried, or even Zuko, but Iroh wasn't naturally inclined toward worry. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment.

"Just trust me," I spoke to them all blindly, before reopening my eyes. "I'm invisible, remember?"

The retired general took a long stare into my eyes before he gave the barely discernible nod of his head; permission. I didn't wait another moment. I took off the very second, refusing to look behind me even once, in case some part of me still wanted to cower back to my family; not to mention my freedom. There wasn't time for that.

_Time for rescue mission, number two,_ I told myself.

**A/N: For the record, I actually didn't make up cat-owls and elephant-rats. They're really in the series, and I had fun picking which animals I wanted to freak Leila out with, hehe. Btw, that quote at the beginning of the chapter almost made me cry. =P I'm such a sucker for stuff like that. R&R!**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Hey, readers! I feel really bad about this, but I can't guarantee another update after this for a few weeks maybe. 8( I - being the idiot I can be sometimes - cracked the screen on my laptop. All of my writing was saved on there, and I have no idea at the moment how I am going to replace the screen. Right now, all I can do is update this from my ipod, but only because I already had this chapter in doc. manager. Anyway, I'm really sorry, guys, but I will try my best to get this all sorted out as fast as I can. **

** Enjoy the chapter! -B**

**Disclaimer: This is me . . . disclaiming.  
**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**I POSSIBLY GET A KID FIRED  
**

_"If something worth living for is worth dying for,  
then what about those not worth dying for?"_

It wasn't long after Iroh and the others were out of my sight that I ran into trouble. There were a number of guards walking the halls, as usual, and I still looked like an escaped slave. Their voices rebounded off the walls, making it around the corner up ahead that they were about to come around. I didn't think. I just darted into one of the hundreds of doors interrupting the palace hallways.

I held the door shut, realizing for the first time what I'd actually gone and gotten myself into. It had just seemed so easy at the time; like all I would have to do was head back to the slave's quarters and find Zuko snooping around, looking for me. But, then there was the question of how we were going to find our way out of there without someone with a map; or, more accurately, without Iroh and a map. I knew that I would be able to find my way back to where I'd been already, but I could only hope that Zuko knew where to go from there.

I sighed, pushing away from the doorway. I really needed to work on the whole 'thinking things through' concept. Still, though. I was there, now, and I was going to find Zuko's butt if it killed me. I turned around, observing the room I'd intruded on.

Just one glance around the chamber, and it was apparent that it belonged to a girl; a very _girly _girl. Everything was frilly, reddish-pink, with laced fabrics running off the bed and curtains like rosy waterfalls. On the wall was a sketched picture of a noble girl. She was sporting a cheery grin, and her caramel hair was braided down her back. I cringed, stepping over several stuffed animals as I made my way to the girl's closet.

It was a trying task picking an outfit from her closet that was convenient, but didn't look out of place there in the royal palace. In the end, I settled on a cardinal colored dress with scarlet pants underneath. It looked like something an upper class, fire noble would wear, but wasn't so incredibly annoying that I couldn't move in it. I left the slave's dress there in the girl's closet, making my way out of her room before she had the chance to come back.

Stepping out into the crimson hallway again, I headed purposefully back down to the workroom. I supposed that since I'd started off there, it would be the first place Zuko would check. I shook my head, accelerating my pace. It was a wonder I was acting like this at all. A few weeks ago, I probably would have laughed at the thought of Zuko being left behind in the fire nation.

Now, though, I had actually been the one to _volunteer _to go after the impatient prince, when Iroh had wanted to leave first. I knew that his uncle had been thinking through things rationally, of course, wanting to get as many of us out of there as possible, but I was inexplicably anxious about the situation. I couldn't quite put my finger on the feeling, but I couldn't bring myself to leave.

I reached the door to the slave's workroom; the same one I'd departed into before. It sounded empty, now, as I pressed my ear to the cold mahogany; not a sound filtering through into the hall. I twisted the handle, shifting my weight, but it caught in place. I hissed. Already locked. That meant I had to find another way inside. I did an about-face, striding impatiently down back the way I'd come.

The sound of laughing voices began to crescendo as I approached the palace entrance, and I was just a second from darting into another unoccupied room before I remembered that I was in disguise, now. I pretended I was Zuko, mimicking the way he walked around with his nose up in the air and his shoulders pulled back to the point of being painful. It was just a brief pass-by. An older couple, laughing as they made their way to the back of the palace, merely nodded at me as they walked past. I smirked as their voices fell into the background again. I'd just aced the first test.

I had to remind myself, though, that it wouldn't be the last.

My now-slippered feet carried me outside the palace and around the back. I located the herb gardens again, remembering the burnt patches that had blotted the copse of trees around there. If I could turn them into a trail of sorts, then it could possibly get me on track toward finding Zuko. It wasn't difficult to figure out where my firebender had been. The bark on about half the trees had been blackened to a crisp.

I fingered the flaking, burnt wood as I followed it into a deeper area of the gardens. The foliage became denser; more wild and untrimmed. It became obvious that I was making my way out of the borders of the palace gardens and into the backwoods. The only thing keeping me hot on the trail was the continuous stream of singed forest that could only have been the result of a pair of very irritated firebenders.

The trail let out onto a dirt pathway, winding steep down a hill. A geometric, iron building sat at the base, shielded heavily by overgrown shrubbery. If I strained my ears, I could hear what sounded like the clink of metal on metal; like the kind of noise you would expect to find in an army training ground-

"You look incredibly lost, young lady."

I let out an embarrassingly girly gasp, whirring around to find myself face to face with a dark-haired man who had twice the body weight on me. He caught my wrist as it snapped up in an automatic response to the close proximity, starting to pull me back toward the gardens in a gentle, but threatening way.

"Might I ask what you're doing here?" he inquired, his voice gentleman-like, but his eyes dangerous. "Not looking for something, I hope."

"Oh, no," I replied, smoothly sliding my hand through his grasp and holding it by my side; away from him. I took an involuntary step back, pretending not to notice the double meaning in his words. "I was just taking a walk."

"Well, in that case, there's a lovely path around the west side of the palace that is much more suitable for walking," the man replied, reverting to using a hand on my back to guide me back up to the palace. "You wouldn't want to injure yourself way out here." I cringed at what might have happened to a certain person who probably _had_ injured himself out there. From the looks of his uniform, this man was a high-ranking military official. His clothing was similar to what Iroh had been wearing that night I first met him.

The pressure in my chest tightened the further I was led away from the trail I'd been following. Just the thought of losing my lead suddenly had me tensed beyond discomfort. If this man found me out, then I had no chance of making it out of the fire nation with Zuko. I could only hope that he hadn't been caught, too. The trees broke up ahead, and I saw my chance.

"I know how to find it from here," I insisted, speeding up my pace so that he wouldn't have a grip on my shoulder anymore.

"Just a moment," the man replied, catching my wrist again. My attempted escape was shattered as I stared back at him over my shoulder. He waited another moment, searching my eyes before he continued.

"I don't believe I've seen you around here before, miss . . ." The sentence was left open; a clear question directed toward me.

"Lady Takahashi."

I don't know what made me decide to use my father's surname. It was just the first valid answer that happened to pop into my head at the time. I didn't honestly have a chance to think it through. The man's burnt eyes narrowed as he slowly released his hold on my forearm and took a step back. He then offered a low bow with equal deliberance, not once taking his suspicious eyes off of me. I held the gaze coldly as he straightened himself back up, taking the opportunity to introduce himself.

"Commander Zhao," he informed me, as if the name itself was a threat; a warning. "I hope to see you again soon, Miss _Takahashi_."

My eyes clung to the retreating form of Commander Zhao as he strode back toward the front of the palace's main building. Goosebumps still covered my skin from his nauseating touch, despite the lack of cold anywhere near me. Although I'd never seen the man before in my life, something about his very presence there was repulsing to me. I did _not _trust him.

He had been so gentleman-like; _too_ gentleman-like. Iroh was a gentleman - heck, even Zuko could pull it off sometimes - but that was different. It wasn't in their nature to be cruel or unforgiving. Everything about Zhao had felt like a waiting snare, ready to go off and trap me at any given moment. He set me on edge.

Shaking the uneasiness off, I looked around. Sure enough, I was back in the palace's extensive perimeter. I hadn't even been aware of how far back up the hill Zhao had brought me. On the positive side, though, it seemed that I was now on the far side of the massive building. I began walking immediately, content to put as much distance between myself and that place as possible.

I stayed close to the sides of the buildings, attempting to move at a reasonable pace in those agni forsaken shoes. Shoes were so impractical when it came to travel. Every five seconds one of the frilly, pink slippers would fall off, and I would have to inconspicuously try and put it back on before anyone came around and noticed.

It was while fixing my shoe for what had to have been the fifth time that an idea sparked in my head. If I had just lied about my identity to an expertly trained commander, then what was stopping me from lying to anyone else who happened to be wandering aimlessly around the palace? Nothing. With just one well-timed white lie, I could conceivably have someone lead me right to where Zuko was.

Spying no one in the garden Zhao had all but dragged me into, I opened the very next door my eyes found and walked through. The inside of the room I entered was not unlike any of the others I'd been through; the same amber-colored walls, same ornate, marble flooring. The only noticeable difference was that there were rows of metal swords hung up on the wall opposite the door. I was in luck, though. There was a guard inside.

It seemed to me like this one had been dealt the most boring job in the palace. In fact, if I hadn't walked through the door right then, I'd have bet my left arm he was seconds away from passing out. Once I was in, however, the firebender was wide awake and guarded. He rose from his seat by the wall, moving warily into my path.

"I apologize, Miss," he said, appearing truthful enough. "Civilians aren't allowed in here."

"Oh?" I replied, trying to make a show of sounding clueless. "I was just looking for my brother's station. He works with the high-risk prisoners."

The guard blinked up at the ceiling, and he appeared to be trying to recall something. I patiently smiled at him in what I could only hope was something of a believable look. Finally, his eyes refocused and he breathed out.

"Oh, you're Kira's sister," he decided, appearing completely confident in himself. I bobbed my head, nodding; no doubt with disbelief written plain on my face.

"Yeah," _You poor, gullible kid._ "Do you think you could help me find him?" My eyes widened innocently, and for the first time in my life I was grateful to be wearing a dress. Somehow, I got the feeling that this whole situation would not have gone over so well if I'd been wearing a pair of baggy, men's pants, Zuko's shirt and a dagger tied to my belt.

"Of course," he answered promptly, assuming the 'dutiful fire guard' mode. He held the door open, leading me back outside into the thick, moist air of the gardens. I grinned inwardly. Poor guy. He had to have been a new recruit, or it never would have been that easy. No doubt, they gave all newbies the boring, useless jobs.

My mind raced ahead of us, fixating on the new situation I was in. When we reached our destination - and especially if "my brother" happened to be there - this guy was going to need to be taken care of; or more correctly, he would need to be knocked out and hauled back somewhere he wouldn't be found for a while. Pity. He was actually being relatively nice to me. Then again, I _was_ a high-class noble with a very dangerously employed, older brother.

Oh, well.

We passed several buildings, the closer we got to our destination, with empty iron cells like the one back in Ba Sing Se. The ghostly sight brought back dark images and the feeling of being trapped, with no way out. I knew in my heart that I was just as trapped there in the fire nation as I was in that jail cell. It was all just a matter of perception when you got right down to it. I sped up my pace, making a point not to look too much over there.

The scenery of the palace gradually morphed from comfortable, artistic-type buildings to regulation barracks, made entirely of high-resistance metals. I started to feel almost as if I were entering a war zone; like I had to watch my back at all times. The air around my body heated beyond what was comfortable; evidence of at least a handfull firebender close by, and somehow I didn't think it was my nice fire guard.

"Don't worry," he assured me. "No one is out practicing right now, and the building is just up ahead." He leaned over and pointed just to the right of the hill, toward the forest. Around the bend, a single, steel asylum waited for us; only just revealing itself behind the wall of land.

That was it. The moment my eyes locked on the correct building, the hilt of Zuko's dagger had already struck the back of my unsuspecting guard's neck. He fell limp, nearly toppling forward. I caught the firebender before he could hit the ground, slowly lowering his body to the floor and pulling him back behind one of the barracks before anybody caught what was going on. It took a few minutes to get right, but I finally situated him so that he would be hard to spot, but not incredibly uncomfortable in the position he was in.

I stared down at my now-helpless guard, almost feeling sorry for the boy. Hopefully he wouldn't get in too much trouble for getting thoroughly beaten unconscious by a nonexistent fire noble girl . . . right. I moved away from the barracks as quickly as possible, all but running back out onto the path. I felt like I was being tracked already, an uneasy feeling pooling my mind.

What would someone think if they saw me there? It was one thing for me to be walking around with a guard; an official who was _supposed_ to be there, but I was _not_ supposed to be there. There was a fine line between being clever and being caught, and I was walking that line. My footfalls even sounded anxious as I trekked around the hill that shielded my hopefully-final destination.

There was a kind of impatience inside of me, yet, at the same time, I didn't want to continue. I wanted it to be over and done with, so that I could relax without having to think about what was going to happen if I did this, or who could get hurt if I went here. If it was possible for nerves to get sore from being overworked, then mine would have been. And it was so stupid, because I didn't normally get nervous. It wasn't a part of my character to worry about things.

I sighed in defeat when I reached the door of the building. A part of me must have been hoping for a lock or chain holding the door shut, but there was nothing. All I had to do was twist the handle and push. My hand stayed enclosed around the door knob for a long moment before I finally got over it all and let myself open it.

The first thing I noticed, as the crack in the opening door steadily widened, was the bright light inside. There were no voices, but I could hear some shuffling going on, so there had to have been somebody inside. I worked the door open a bit more. The inside looked almost like the main control room of a fire navy ship. I stepped inside, entering a long, metal hallway that made me feel extremely closed in. There were no windows or doors save for one, which sat precariously at the very end of the sterile hallway.

I stepped one foot at a time down the inferno of a passageway. Zuko's dagger, now re-concealed somewhere in the folds of my borrowed dress, was white-hot, seeming to scorch a hole right through the dark, rosy fabric. The slate-colored walls felt ominous; like the long walk to my grandmother's tent when she was angry with me. Each one of my rhythmic steps beat in my eardrums.

I reached the door at the end and halted, feeling a small fire light inside of me. They couldn't scare me so easily.

Dragging a steady breath out of my unwilling lungs, I pulled the door open.


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Konichiwa! I'm baaackkk ^_^ and with a great chapter. (how modest am I?) Enjoy! -B**

**Disclaimer: I disclaim.**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T  
**

**NEVER TRUST A SHADOWBENDER**

_"Right is right, even if everyone is against it,  
and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it."_

_-William Penn_**  
**

It was another one of those dramatic, slow motion moments.

The arc of the door as it swung open seemed to move at half the speed it should have been moving. As a result, though, my eyes had time to take in the scene with much more clarity than I had expected them to be able to. It was almost exactly like the control room back on the ship. Most of the chamber was made out of steel, and there were rows upon rows of buttons on a panel overlooking a window. The walls were curved in a circular shape, and the clear glass in the back showed a striking view of the crashing ocean over a line of deathly steep cliffs.

However, instead of a strategic table set in the center of the spherical room, there was a thick rod connecting the floor to the ceiling.

And Zuko was tied to it.

His eyes locked with mine in a look of unmistakable panic. He had a charcoal-colored bruise just above his left eye and there was a sickening burn on his upper arm, blood still dripping onto the sterile, ivory floors. He shook his head at me as I started to move toward him, but it was too late. From the far corner of the room, there were alarmed voices, and they were closing distance fast. Regardless, I still stepped for the door. Finally, Zuko blew out the silence.

"Kaida, no!" he yelled, his upper body pulling the ropes that fastened him to the center beam of the room. "Run! Get out of here!"

There was nothing I could do, though. Both my sides were grabbed, and I was forced into the room with the prince from behind. Several people pushed me down onto the ground and bound my hands around the pole to where Zuko and I were side by side. By the time I got around to looking over - and several long seconds after being irreversibly tied up - the prince's eyes were back away from me and up at the line where the wall met the ceiling.

I followed his glare, the temperature of the room escalating. It was almost nothing to me, now, to find Azula perched up on the ledge of the control shaft like a jaguar, one of her long legs dangling off the side haphazardly as she leaned an arm on her other knee. Drop a stage and a few rows of crimson seats around her, and the princess could have been watching her favorite play. Her eyes gave off lazy hints of entertainment as she stared at the two of us sideways, cheek rested on her palm.

"Told you, Zuko."

The princess smirked, her snow white teeth clashing with the intense red of her lips as the smile widened. For once, Azula sounded just like an annoying, younger sibling, now that she seemed to be in a kind of relaxed state. Nearly all the malice was absent from her tone, replaced only by subtle amusement - though at what, I could only guess.

Zuko cringed in a grudging sort of agreement at the words, and I wondered what kind of bet he had been making with his sister while I scoured the fire palace looking for his stupid butt. Suddenly, still observing the ever-growing grin on Azula's face, I realized what she was talking about. I felt a sudden pang of annoyance with Zuko, turning to frown at him.

"You didn't think I'd come back?" I demanded, my voice curt and irritated. Who did he think I was? After all the times I'd stayed with him, when I had every right and reason to high tail it out of there? Nuh, uh. No way was I going to keep his sorry self alive all this way to just let him die in the fire nation. Honestly, as much as I pretended to hate him, he should have known that.

"No," Zuko replied, looking bewildered at my reaction to this news.

"Jerk," I pouted, kicking him in the shin. It probably wasn't a smart move, especially considering the fact that we were going to have to find some way of getting out, but I was too annoyed with the prince at the time to think that far into the future.

"Hey!" he yelped, moving ever so slightly away from my feet; or as much as the constricting ropes would allow. I sneered, finding some inexplicable satisfaction in the fact he hadn't tried to retaliate, despite the force I put into that kick.

"Serves you right, betting against me, you-"

"Well, well, well. You're almost as talented a liar as your father."

I whipped around, instantly forgetting both Zuko and Azula as the polite voice vibrated against my eardrums. My face burned in response as my teeth locked together. Commander Zhao sat leisurely in the far side of the room, leaning forward in his seat and smirking at me in particular.

"You!" I hissed under my breath.

"Not to mention being just as inclined toward breaking the rules," the wolfish man drawled, putting particular emphasis on the last part. I growled, my temper flaring nearly uncontrollably.

"Don't you dare compare me to that coward," I warned dangerously, my voice rasping. He smiled dauntingly, his head raising a fraction as I attempted to stare him down. Behind me, I heard Zuko wonder mutedly how I'd already met the man.

"You were quite convincing, actually," Zhao continued in an almost appraising tone of voice, as if I had said nothing to him at all. "Stealing that dress, coming up with that lie about being 'out on a walk.' It's too bad you had to give yourself away, using your father's last name like that." I breathed out, desolated. The commander's unexplainably odd behavior after I'd given him the name suddenly made all too much sense; and I had been so close . . .

"Yeah, too bad," I managed to force out between clenched teeth. Commander Zhao only smiled at my continually growing outrage.

"It seems almost ironic," Azula mused, bringing my attention momentarily back to her as she stepped down from the edge of the control panel. I eyed the princess warily, but she maintained her distance.

"What seems ironic?" Zuko questioned, as if unable to hold the question back. Looking at his face, though, I could tell that he knew: they were just playing with us now. For some unapparent reason, they needed to buy some time before they would be able to do anything with us, so they were merely keeping us busy; keeping us from figuring a way out. Azula smiled sadistically at the inquiry.

"What a legacy of traitors we have assembled in here."

The intertwined threads of the ropes tightened momentarily around Zuko's chest, evidence he had almost lost his cool. I stared Azula down, feeling strangely upset at her comment. She knew full well what those words meant, and what they would do to her brother mentally. I scowled. It seemed that Azula and Zhao had formed something of an alliance and were there for the sole purpose of stepping on our nerves and wasting our time. Their insults and double-meaning comments were so in sync with one another that the whole thing felt almost planned out, word by word.

I waited for somebody to say something, but it didn't happen. Azula yawned slowly, Zhao kicked his feet up on the control panel, but they didn't speak until Zuko piped up a moment later.

"What are you going to do with us, Azula?" he demanded, as if he were still _their_ prince. I felt the urge to remind him that we weren't exactly in the position to be making demands. Azula's eyes snapped toward his face, as if she hadn't been silently waiting for one of us to say something the entire time.

"What ever do you mean, dear brother?" the princess shot back with sarcastic innocence, her honeyed eyes darkening. I pursed my lips; Zuko breathed slowly out.

"You know what."

A maniacal grin twisted its way through her mouth.

"What does it matter?" Zhao answered for her, playing tag-team again. "There's nothing either of you can do, now that we've got you both in the same room." I couldn't see the man's face, but he was unmistakably enjoying everything that was going on. It was clear as burning daylight in his tone. Zuko frowned, his eyes meeting mine for a short moment. Then, suddenly, his irritation flared up again out of nowhere.

"Azula," he breathed the word dangerously, turning toward his sister in an effort to ignore Zhao. "Tell. Me."

Even watching the exchange from the sidelines, it was impossible not to feel the white-hot intensity searing in between the two siblings. They held each other's gaze, Zuko's expression intently serious, and slowly - miraculously - the grin began to melt off of the princess's porcelain face. She glared at her brother, her expression becoming almost something of a pout; like she was angry with him for ruining her good mood. Zuko's face stayed exactly the same.

Finally, the fire princess gave in.

"Hmph, fine," she huffed, turning away. "It's not like it will make a difference, anyway. You're out of luck regardless of what I tell you."

Zuko waited wordlessly, his face oddly patient. I couldn't understand it. In just a few seconds, he had completely re-directed Azula's intentions, all without saying more than three words, and there he was looking like it was nothing. Ugh, firebenders . . .

"In just two hours," Azula began, staring out the window, now. "_Father _is due back in the Royal City." My eyes flew to where Zuko sat, but he must have been in decent control of his emotions because he appeared relatively calm. The only thing off was the subtle twitch at the corner of his mouth that he got when he wasn't keeping his anger in check.

"I'm sure," the princess continued, the amusement in her voice thickening. "He would be delighted to hear all about your adventures with the little shadowbender."

_She knows. Azula knows._

It was my first and only thought.

I stiffened, the flood of my panic finally spilling over the edge. Zuko sucked in a breath as well, his eyes amplifying and his entire body tensing. I was out of it then, and there was no bringing me back. It didn't even mean anything - not really - but something about Azula _knowing_ had hit some panic nerve in my brain. The flow of my emotions spiked, and I was suddenly desperate to get out of there, my fingers disobediently searching for Zuko's dagger, hidden somewhere in the folds of my borrowed dress.

"W-what did you say?" Even with all the chaos going on in my head, I could easily hear the shaking hysteria coloring my own voice. The princess sneered, her grin that of a feral cat.

"What?" Zhao answered for her. "Did you think you could hide out in your shadows forever? Someone was bound to figure you out eventually." My head snapped toward the commander, anger exploding. I fumed inside, growing sick of he and Azula's game of verbal toss, but somehow I found that I couldn't speak; a simple case of too many emotions hitting me all at once.

"So what if you know about Kaida?" Zuko challenged, noticing my sudden lack of snappy responses. "What does it matter?"

Amidst all the trying to wrap my head around the revelation that someone other than Zuko or Iroh knew I could shadowbend, there was a small part of me wondering where the prince had picked up on me lately. I couldn't quite remember when it had started, but somewhere along the line he'd begun to notice small things. Like somehow knowing to speak for me just now. No one had told him that I was stupidly inarticulate at that moment. He'd just known.

"Because one of two things will happen when we let father meet her," Azula started up once again, moving around us to where Zhao sat on the opposite side; ganging up still. "Either he will be interested in her abilities, in which case she would be locked in the prison below us, or he will simply have us get rid of her-"

"In which case, you would die," Zhao finished easily. "To be perfectly honest with you, it's probably the second one." The commander grinned crookedly while Azula smirked out the window, as if half-expecting her father's ship to suddenly pop up along the horizon.

Suddenly, my fingertips met ice-cold steel as they sank deeper into the too-frilly material of my dress. The sudden temperature drop accompanying the discovery of Zuko's dagger almost made me gasp out loud. It was sheer luck that I managed to pass it off as a suspicious-sounding cough, instead. Our two guards payed no attention, but Zuko let his eyes slide over to my form; only his eyes.

I pursed my lips and didn't meet his gaze, trying to free the blade without moving more than my fingers. After a few minutes' silence, Azula and Zhao began to speak quietly to each other, giving me more leeway. Resting my hands behind my back, I turned the dagger in the light so that it just barely flashed through the folds of my dress. It was an insignificant motion, but Zuko's eyes refocused on my hands instantly.

I turned to look at him innocently, pulling the trusty weapon even further out and praying I could get free long enough to bend something. Under the restriction of the ropes around my midsection, I strained my arm the surprisingly difficult two inches to Zuko's. Our fingers touched as I passed the prince his dagger for what had to have been the first time since I stole it from him. He tapped his foot once, twice; counting down. On the third tap, his awkwardly bent wrist slid up, slicing both of our binding ropes in one short movement.

We both stood up simultaneously; synchronized. In that one second, Azula and Zhao were only just registering what was going on and hadn't even moved from their spots yet. I didn't wait for an invitation. I covered Zuko's eyes with one hand as well as I could manage, using the other to bend all the darkness from the room. The result was a near-blinding flash that managed to stun Azula and Zhao long enough for us to take the first attack.

While Zuko took on his sister, I immediately went for Zhao. Maybe it was his comment about my father earlier, but I felt like the man was past due for a good beating. Regardless of whatever Iroh said about revenge not being productive, nothing could change the fact that at that moment I wanted nothing more than to sock the oversized firebender in the face.

I clenched my fist, swinging my arm around and right up at Zhao with as much force as I could conjure up. He grabbed my arm, though, like it was nothing, jerking me down by the limb and twisting it up behind my back. I doubled over, digging my elbow into his abdomen and causing him to release me. I staggered forward, just making it far enough away from Zhao to escape being burnt as his hands flared up and caught fire.

My arms flew forward, stopping my straight trajectory for the center pole and keeping me from falling over. A quick glance to the side told me that Zuko and Azula were really getting into it as well, tossing burning embers back and forth in a flurry of red and azure. The way they were fighting, nothing in the control room was safe. If anything unexpected happened, someone was liable to break one of the windows.

A growl sounded behind me, and I just narrowly dodged another searing burn as Zhao tried to catch me from behind. The lunge missed, but just barely as I swung myself around the other side of the pole, using it as a kind of barrier between us. The firebender switched his weight back and forth, testing my reflexes. I kept a firm grip on the thick, metal rod for support.

Suddenly, though, my hands were scalding. I jumped back, realizing that Zhao had been steadily heating the pole while I had been preoccupied with avoiding him. Not a moment later, I was already regrouping myself, but the damage had been done. Zhao grabbed my shoulder, forcing me backward and down onto my knees. I struggled against his grip, but all I got in response was a kick in the face. My eyes squeezed shut as Zhao's foot made contact with my cheek. Regardless, though, I felt myself fly back a little ways, hitting the iron wall.

The sound of firebending ceased around me.

"Kaida!" Zuko called.

And, in an instant, the rain of fire started up again.

There was the sound of glass breaking overhead, and my side-thought earlier about someone busting through the window seemed a whole lot more possible. I jumped up off the floor, leaning momentarily on the wall and ignoring the slightly blurred area on the right side of my vision.

"Hmmph."

I hit the wall again, this time managing to keep myself upright against Zhao's crushing blow, but only just. We shoved against each other as I attempted to regain the air that he had knocked out of my lungs.

"Zhao-" Zuko started again, still fending his sister off while stealing glances in my direction. I pressed my back into the wall, shaking my head back and forth.

"Don't worry about me, Zuko," I cut the prince off before he could distract himself. He huffed in agreement, refocusing on Azula.

"How noble," Zhao breathed in my face, shoving me against the wall even harder. I grit my teeth, trying to fight back, but the man's strength was unmatchable. "Asoka would be proud." I grunted, narrowing my eyes in as threatening a way as I could manage in my confined state.

"I thought I told you-" I breathed raggedly. "_Never _compare me to that traitor!"

I swung my knee upward, nailing Zhao right in the stomach. He doubled over and fell forward as I slipped around his form and made it a convenient distance away before rushing back and going for a tackle. At first, it would have appeared that I had the conclusive upper hand - Zhao was on the ground, after all - but I hadn't been thinking clear enough ahead. As soon as I was within arm's distance away, the commander reclaimed his hold on me, but this time he swung me around and let go as soon as I was on the other side of him.

The moment my feet left the ground, I knew what was coming. With a crash like the sound of the ocean outside the building, I broke through what remained of the already shattered window, hitting the grass outside and rolling several feet. My muscles screamed as I tried to push myself up, and several scorching points on my body let me know that I had not escaped the shards of glass that lay all around me, glimmering in the irritating sunlight.

As I clumsily staggered to my feet, I found that my arms were covered in blood. Shouts poured out through the destroyed window, and I hurriedly tried to pick out the clear blades of glass stuck all over my body. I never got the chance to start that, though, because at that exact moment Zuko darted out from behind the control building, eyes flashing every direction. It was blatantly obvious that he was looking for me, and it didn't take long for him to accomplish that.

"Kaida, come on!" he shouted, waving me over. I began sprinting immediately, though not quite managing to tune out the venomous sting radiating out of the glass shards embedded in my calf. The prince took my arm, pulling me after him as if I weren't running fast enough already. A glance behind us told me why.

Not only were Zhao and Azula hot on our tails, but behind them ran what had to have been at least twenty other firebenders. They must have been out there on Azula's orders all along; some backup just in case Zuko and I managed to escape. They might not have even needed to be there, though. The crashing of the sea was roaring louder by the second, and we were swiftly running out of places to escape to.

"Where do we go?" I asked Zuko over the rhythmic pounding of the ocean along the jagged cliffs. The prince simply shook his head; completely at a loss for what to do. Somehow, it felt like a death sentence - the gesture. It confirmed that neither of us had anything left to offer up. We were both clean out of backup plans. Things were closing in on us from both sides: a fifty foot drop on one, a mob of angry firebenders on the other. Our choices were narrowing.

And they all but disappeared when Azula pounced out in front of us, keeping Zuko and I from making it any further. The group of firebenders stopped, now that they had us trapped and were at liberty to enjoy the moment to its full capacity. The prince and I edged backward, our feet making contact with the extreme edge of the cliff. I wasn't sure which looked more inviting: the firebenders or the ocean.

My eyes scanned the horizon one last time, and I was almost positive it would be my last. Some part of me was thankful that I had at least been strong enough to get my family out safely, but there was also another part - a more selfish part - that was angry that I hadn't been able to save Zuko or myself; that going back had been such a waste of time in the end. It was my little tolerance for . . .

My eyes focused on a tiny, gray dot, floating purposefully in the water, and the reason for my suddenly silenced thoughts. My selfish side chuckled internally.

Zhao and Azula stood at the front of the group, not fifteen feet away from us, leading the bloodthirsty guardsmen in what they assumed was our last, sorry chance at escaping the Royal City. I turned my back on them, rounding off to face Zuko, who immediately acted like he was ready to push me back behind him. I spoke hurriedly before he could try anything.

"Zuko, do you trust me?"

"Do I-" the prince halted his words, only just seeming to register my question. After a few seconds, he gave me that old have-you-lost-your-mind look that I loved so much. "What did you say?" I huffed at his dumb question.

"Just answer it, okay?" I demanded, feeling uneasy and exposed with my back toward the encroaching enemy. "Do you trust me?"

I searched his eyes intently, as if staring into them could somehow draw the answer out faster. I had to know; before I did anything, I had to know. I raised an eyebrow, showing him that we didn't have all day. In fact, we were probably out of time, because I could hear the subtle crackling and popping of fire behind my head. Finally, the ridiculously slow prince responded.

"Yes."

That was all I needed.

I grabbed Zuko by the shirt with both hands, and - using every last freaking bit of strength in my arms - I pushed the prince of the fire nation off the side of a cliff.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Oh, yeah. Kaida pushed Zuko off a cliff. Read&Review!**


	39. Chapter 39

**N/A: School . . . Yeah, that's my excuse. Sorry? Anyhoo, I was waiting forever to put out the last chapter so I could read all your comments. You guys make me laugh XD Thank you to anyone who reviewed and favourited. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Disclaiming, disclaiming, disclaiming . . .**

**I HAVE A MINOR PANIC ATTACK**

A lot of crazy things had happened to me in my lifetime. I'd been chained to a bed, shoved into a running water fountain, banished from my own country.

But I never, _ever _expected Kaida to push me off that ledge.

I suppose I should have seen it coming, what with the way she turned her back to every firebender out there besides me, but in all honesty I hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention. Her out-of-the-blue question had caught me off guard, and I forgot everything else after that.

Now, I was tumbling downward, the world falling away around me. I couldn't hear anyone screaming, so I must have gone down dignified way at least, but then again I didn't really think I could hear anything. For a few endless moments, I was weightless in the air, watching a blur of light and dark blues streak past me through slitted eyes. The wind tore through my hair as I dropped, whipping me in the face.

There was a sudden crash, then sound ceased to enter my ears as my body hit the surface of the ocean. It was like the quick-paced world had suddenly stopped and decided to go in slow motion. My entire body went numb with the cold liquid that was slowly seeping through the material of my clothes. The burn on my arm stung mutedly for a moment, then stopped burning altogether.

Somewhere near me, another _whoosh_ echoed through the dark water. I grudgingly pried my eyelids up, ignoring the irritating stinging of the saltwater on my eyes. A dark, pink cluster of material drifted downward, and it took me a second to remember that Kaida was in somebody else's dress. I kicked my way through the blinding seawater and toward the rosy mass of silk that had to have been dragging the shadowbender down.

Her arms were limp, now, and it seemed that the buoyant water was the only thing keeping her from sinking right to the ocean floor. I struggled to pull the girl right-side-up, wishing that she could have chosen a more convenient disguise to borrow. At last, I hooked my arm under Kaida's shoulder and paddled my way up, fighting the crushing force of the currents flurrying around us, trying to push us back down. I gasped for breath the minute my head broke the surface, and - all too soon - the world was chaotic again.

Despite being fifty feet above us, the sharp yelling of Azula's voice sounded well over the beating waves as she verbally tore the footmen apart for not stopping us in time. A few of the firebenders - ones who weren't being screamed at - sent burning rocks hurling down the cliff face, but every last one of them was extinguished by the spray of the roaring ocean before it even hit the water. They were still rocks, though, and we had to get out of the way.

I pulled Kaida up, and it didn't take long to figure out that she was nearly unconscious. Her eyes were still open, but she wasn't saying anything, and frankly the sight of her _not_ talking was bothering me. I kicked my legs harder, fighting to keep us both breathing air, and not seawater, but her dress had to have weighed half as much as she did because it was making it harder to stay over sea level. There was no way I was going to be able to keep us both above the surface for very much longer. What had she been thinking-

"Need a hand, nephew?"

I stared up against the sun, completely stunned. I couldn't even respond to the question - partially out of shock, and partially because I was too out of breath to make any kind of sound. Uncle had somehow managed to have Mr. and Mrs. Yuumi pull the ship around the side of the Royal City and wait for us to be in danger. The missing reasoning behind Kaida's insane actions suddenly became clear. It didn't make her any less crazy, but at least it made more sense, now.

The old man lowered himself and another, younger girl down into the water inside one of the life boats. I reached up, taking ahold of his outstretched hand and hauling both myself and Kaida into the cramped raft. We fell inside, landing on the jagged and uncomfortable floor. Kaida immediately went into a coughing fit, sputtering the bitter seawater everywhere.

"Kaida!" the dark-haired girl exclaimed, her legs shaking dangerously as she tried to stand up in the rocking boat.

"She'll be fine," Uncle soothed, pushing the girl down again and patting Kaida's back gently.

After a minute or so, the shadowbender's breathing calmed down and gradually began to return to normal. She leaned her head back against the edge of the raft while Uncle pullied us back up the side of the ship. Far behind us, the Royal City was shrinking smaller and smaller by the second, the miniscule forms on the cliff face disappearing from view. Someone shifted.

"Iroh, I-" My eyes snapped back to Kaida, along with everyone else's, as her sentence cut short. She coughed loudly again. All of us sat forward, waiting for her to finish. She smiled slightly. "I need to get out of this pink thing." I rolled my eyes while the young girl sighed in relief, and Uncle's face split into a grin.

"Of course."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

There were times when I wondered whether or not all the clothes I borrowed would eventually get back to their rightful owners.

I had to have borrowed - or 'borrowed' - at least twenty articles of clothing from different people all over the world. Like right now, standing in front of the mirror and glaring at how boyish I looked in Zuko's pants and baggy shirt. It had been a choice between that, or something of Azula's, and there was no way anyone was getting me into psycho girl's things. Besides, all she really owned were dresses and outfits of mass destruction, and I was very done with both.

Leila and my grandmother had no clothing other than what they were wearing at the present time, which meant that I was either going to be wearing something of sparky's or something of Iroh's . . . I shuddered at the thought.

"Are you almost done in there?" Zuko complained, audibly leaning against his bedroom door from the outside. I smirked.

"Actually, I've been done for about ten minutes, now," I replied sweetly, turning to face the sound of his voice. The prince smoothly pushed the door open, a dull look crossing his face. I skipped over to my futon, internally congratulating myself for still being able to irritate him. Any other day I would have plopped right down onto the mattress, but Iroh had only just managed to remove all the glass lodged into my skin, and - needless to say - we didn't need any wounds reopening. Blood was just nasty, especially all over your bed.

"Who was that girl with my uncle?" Zuko unexpectedly blurted out. I snorted before answering him.

"That's my cousin, dummy," I replied shortly, crossing my arms as I unwillingly went toward the door. Darn him and his stupid roomless ship . . .

"Your cousin?" the prince questioned. Bewildered, I turned around, nodding my head at him slowly.

"Yes, my cousin . . ." I answered uncertainly. "The reason we came here? Remember?" I blinked at the prince, wondering if he was really being serious. Zuko watched me blankly for a second, then blinked back a few times, halfway snapping out of it.

"Oh, right."

I raised an eyebrow dubiously, but left his room anyway, shutting the door behind me. I could worry about his awful memory later; right now, I had a whole lot of explaining to do to a certain pair of people.

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

I honestly couldn't tell if poor Leila was going to pass out or burst from all of the unanswered questions I knew were bouncing off the walls inside her head, just dying to fly out through her mouth. All throughout my entire recount and explanation of what had happened since the night our village was raided, she had been decidedly incapable of sitting still for more than a few seconds at a time. It was quite entertaining for the most part.

My grandmother was not so easy to read. Her expression had remained impassive during my entire story, save for a few instances; like when I told her about the incident with Sayo the gypsy. Even when I told them - straight out, for the first time in my life - that I _was_ a shadowbender, her facial expression did not change. While Leila gasped each and every time I mentioned the words 'shadow beings,' Grandma gave me nothing of the sort. She was hardened; granite.

I took them through everything, from the very beginning. I told them about meeting Iroh after the fire nation stormed our camp and took them. I told them about my endless wanderings while I was trying to figure out how to get them back. I told them about kidnapping Zuko (earning an unexpected burst of laughter from Leila); told them how Iroh was the only thing that stopped us from killing each other. I told them about Sayo, about the Dai Li, about Azula and Zhao. I even told them about the commander mentioning my father briefly.

Then I went back again, telling them about my gift of shadowbending, as well as the curse of the shadow creatures. It was the first and only time I'd ever come totally clean with them; the first time I'd ever told them the entire truth about myself. The very second I got to the end of the seemingly-endless explanation, Leila burst out, her hand shooting up and the words spilling from her mouth so quickly that they were nearly impossible to understand the first time through.

"Can you show us?" she urged, grinning. I had a hunch over what she meant, but asked just to be safe.

"You want me to shadowbend?" Leila smiled sheepishly, standing up with me.

I peered up at the clear sky. It was a gorgeous night for us to be out on deck. Every single star was so visible that I felt like I could have sat down and counted them all down to the very last one. Iroh and Zuko were way over at the railing, leaning forward and looking out over the obsidian ocean as they spoke quietly to each other. Mr. and Mrs. Yuumi sat comfortably by the fire.

Pacing out an area in the middle of the clearing, I spun a ring of light around my waist. I didn't need to do anything crazy or big; just enough to show them what I could do - what they had been missing. The ring of light quickened, hovering tightly around my body and widening until it covered the top half of my chest. Soon, I had the glowing halo spinning so fast that there was a faint humming sound coming from it.

Leila jumped from her spot, scooting toward me and my bending apparition. When she was close enough, I wove it out from around me and spiraled it around her arm. The waterbender's china blue eyes amplified, watching the light as it glowed and splashed across her face. I entertained my cousin's interest for a bit longer before letting the stream of light fall out and dissipate.

"Wow," Leila mouthed, her bluebell eyes bright. We strode back to where my grandmother sat, watching and smiling on from the sidelines, and plopped down in our places. I sighed, leaning back against the ship.

"So, that's all," I confessed, watching my grandmother in particular. Even as I said it, though, I realized that I had left out one crucial event: the white shadowbender; the one I'd seen back in that changing room when I completely blacked out. I hadn't told Zuko or Iroh about that either, though. It would only have made me sound even crazier than they all already thought that I was.

Suddenly, another revelation dawned on me. There I was spilling everything about my shadowbending to Leila and my grandmother, and I had never even gotten around to telling Zuko about the shadow beings. A few months ago, I was completely content with not explaining my odd, paranoid behavior to him, but now it just felt strange that he was the only one who didn't know. I frowned off the side of the ship, resolving to tell the prince about it the next chance I got.

"Well," my grandmother began, closing her eyes as she stood up. "Your mother would have been very proud of you, Kaida." I smiled at the reference as she left for her room, finding surprising and unexpected satisfaction at the idea of my mom being proud of me. I had never thought about her like that before.

"I heard our old village has been rebuilt since we left," Leila commented, staring dreamily out onto the water. "I bet everyone will be surprised when they see you."

"Yeah, I - wait, what?" I quizzed, having to repeat my cousin's words in my head a few times. Regardless, they still made no sense to me. She gave me a funny look, turning away from the ocean.

"I said that when we all move back to the village," Leila repeated, this time looking slightly worried. "Everyone will be surprised to see you. They all thought you were dead, you know."

"When we move back," I repeated flatly, mostly to myself.

My eyes found Zuko and Iroh, still at the railing near the front of the ship. Suddenly, something very much like panic started to seep into my chest. It was something that I had wondered about before - what might happen after all the chaos was over - but I had never let myself think all the way through it, instead convincing myself that I would simply deal with the issue when the time came.

Now, that time had come, and for one reason or another I didn't want it to be there. Of course I loved my family more than anything else in the world and wanted nothing more than to be with them, but I couldn't help feeling like . . . like I wasn't finished here. II was suddenly snapped back to the time Iroh had attempted to explain destiny to me.

_Destiny guides your life,_ he'd said. _You don't decide what to do or when to do it; not really. It's fate._

I felt - no, I _knew_ - somehow that my role there was not over. I couldn't quite locate the source of the hunch, but something inside of me just knew that there were still people out there who needed me; or people who _I_ needed. The feeling was so strong that even my instincts were fighting against the very thought of me leaving them, now.

"I . . ." my voice trailed off. "Iroh!" The old general turned over his shoulder to look at me. My heart spasmed in my chest.

"Yes?" he called across the empty deck.

I hesitated. What would he think if I asked him if I could stay? Or worse, what if he said no? The words got caught in my throat, and I forced them back aggressively. No. I couldn't ask Iroh to do that. After all he'd done to help me, after everything he'd put aside, after saving my life so many times; there was no way I could ask him to continue to babysit me in this way. It wasn't right.

"Kaida?" Iroh called again.

"N-nevermind!" I answered doubtfully, rising to my feet. "I'm going to bed, Lei."

"Alright," she answered doubtfully, looking after me as I anxiously went through the stairwell.

I pulled the iron door shut behind me with unnecessary force, quickly descending the dimly lit stairway. I didn't know where I was going, or where I wanted to go for that matter, so I just paced aimlessly up and down the hallways. I stepped quietly in an effort not to wake anyone up, but it was surprisingly difficult working with the level of anxiety pulsing through my body.

It was such a dumb thing to get worked up over. People stressed out when they were about to die; not when they were about to go home to a village of people who loved and missed them. I just couldn't stop myself, though. My pace gradually weakened the further I got from top deck, and I eventually found myself slumped uselessly against the wall of a chilly, narrow hallway. The corridor was empty, and an icy draft became the only moving thing there, including me.

I stared at the opposite wall, sliding shakily down the side of the hallway in defeat. Spirits, I was such a mental patient. Even when I thought about it myself, it sounded so stupid. I was getting so worried about some ridiculous superstitions that didn't even matter. Maybe this whole rescue mission was finally getting to me, after all. After all, it wasnt like I could prove that I needed to stay with Iroh and Zuko. It was just a feeling; nothing more. I rested my chin onto my knees, glaring at the dull wall opposite me. Flecks of light circled my head slowly as I tried to drown out the echoing sound of the ocean that filled the cold passageway. I didn't particularly need the light, but it always kept me calmer.

"Anything you need to talk about, dear?"

"Grandma," I breathed, nearly jumping to my feet. My heart pummeled my chest as I righted myself, putting on a sad attempt at a fake smile. "I'm fine. Seriously." The elderly woman frowned.

"Now, Kaida," she began in disapproval. "I don't care how good a liar you like to _think_ you are. You can't fool me."

"I . . ." my voice didn't work. Agni, why wasn't my voice working? My grandmother only smiled, adding to my already piled-up confusion.

"You don't want to go with us, do you?" she guessed correctly. My eyes flashed, the spheres of light dancing around my head pulsing.

"How did you know that?" I had always known her to have a sixth sense for guessing my thoughts, but I'd only just thought them, myself. Had my grandmother honestly known what I wanted to do before I had? There was just no way.

"Lucky guess," the old woman brushed aside dismissively, as she always had. "You wouldn't be hurting anyone's feelings, you know?"

"It's not that," I admitted, gazing down the shadow-filled hallway behind her. "I've sort of been living off of Iroh for a while, now. He and Zuko have things to do without having to worry about a shadowbender who draws trouble like a magnet." Yes. They were definitely sick of me by that point; I was sure of that. Zuko was never keen on me being there, anyway, and - as nice as Iroh tried to be - I couldn't imagine that he wanted me to stay there. That's how it always was. Some lasted longer than others, but eventually everyone I'd ever met had wanted me gone, some time or another.

"But?" my grandmother prompted, raising a silvery eyebrow.

"But . . ." I took a breath, searching for the right words. "I feel like . . . I need to be here." It was an awful attempt at an explanation, but it was the best I could manage at the time.

"And is that what your heart is telling you?"

I considered that for a moment, fingering the wall and biting my lower lip.

". . . yes."

"Then, here's your chance," my grandmother smiled. I cocked my head.

"What do y-"

"Oh, there you are, Kaida," Iroh spoke behind me, his voice noticeably relieved. I turned around cautiously, wondering what on earth to say. "Are you alright? Miss Leila told me that you left in quite a hurry." The old man scooted closer, mischievously placing a hand over his mouth, as if he was going to whisper something to me. "You're rather upsetting my nephew, Kaida."

I huffed, stepping back and ignoring the retired general's last comment. My gaze slid back behind me, but my grandmother had disappeared. I was alone.

"Iroh," I began resignedly, still feeling the lingering support of my grandmother, somehow. "I need to ask you something."

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Just one more chapter after this! Don't freak out, though, it's not really the _end _end. It's . . . well, I'll just explain it all next time. Read&review! Peace out =D**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: Hello, dear love muffins! What do I have to say? 200 reviews, baby! Oh, and Sleeping in the Shadows, you made like my entire week with your comments. XD**

**Disclaimer: Disclaim yourself, fool!**

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T  
**

**EPILOGUE: CHOKED UP AND CHOKED TO DEATH**

Leila was killing me.

"Lei-" I squeaked. "Can't - breathe . . . Lei-"

"Whoops, sorry," my cousin apologized, dropping from her tiptoes and releasing her bone-crushing hug. I let myself wheeze for a minute or two, gradually turning a normal skin color again.

Leila, my grandmother and I stood just off the boat in a quiet, little, fishing village off the mid earth kingdom coast. In just moments, we would be going our separate ways for a while, and - needless to say - we were all getting a little choked up; and in more ways than just one. I thought back to the scene on the ship a week earlier.

I had been ready to cringe and run away the second the words were out of my mouth, and I realized that I had just asked Iroh if I could stay with them on their journey. To my shock, though, the worst he did was grin at me like crazy and chuckle something about irony. I hadn't the slightest idea what was going on, and apparently the old man had noticed because he actually made an effort to answer my question.

"You are absolutely welcome to stay," he'd told me, still smirking like a little kid. "I'll go tell the cook."

And with that, the great and dignified General Iroh had merrily bounced his way back down the icy corridor with not another word on the subject. He hadn't even paused one second to consider my request. The man really astounded me sometimes.

"We'll see each other again," Leila promised, bringing me back to the present. "For sure." There was a humorous light in her cobalt eyes, and somehow I couldn't help but believe her. My grandmother then took her turn, wrapping her arms around me tightly and patting my back.

"Be safe," she instructed. It was so simple; the only thing she said, and I took it to heart without moment's thought. I scanned both their faces, trying to assure myself that I wouldn't forget them before the next time we met. Although, I had a feeling that there wasn't any danger of that happening; a comforting fact, to say the very least. We'd be back together in no time.

My eyes tingled as I jogged back up the ramp onto the ship, and I felt the urge to turn my face away in case I did something embarrassing, like start crying. Spirits forbid I ever did _that_ in front of anyone. Leila and my grandmother stayed by the dock, even as the ship began to sluggishly pull away. They waved as I shrunk into the horizon line, and I waved back, not letting my hand fall back to my side until both of them were completely out of sight and the port village had faded into the distance, becoming nothing more than a bittersweet memory.

I stayed out on deck, letting the sun hit my skin unrefracted. I had no idea where we were going, now, but I was still somehow sure that I was on the right course. And, even though I might not have had a map laid out to guide me through what was to come, I knew that what I was doing was the right thing by being there. I knew what our next objective - our next mission - was:

Find the avatar.

"You know, we can still turn around if you really want to go with them."

Zuko came up and stood next to me, watching as the shoreline all but disappeared. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his sable hair almost covered the cloth bandage tied over his forehead.

"I'm offended, your highness. You sound like you want to throw me off the ship," I smirked, somehow managing to mock-pout at the same time. "And, anyway, who would be here to bother you every day if I left, huh?"

The prince didn't respond, but the tangerine sunlight was thrown across his face in such a way that it almost looked like he was smirking, too. We watched the sun fall behind the hills in silence, and I was pretty sure I had it all figured out.

_Yeah,_ I told myself. _This is definitely where I need to be._

**B-L-A-C-K-O-U-T**

**A/N: Someone pinch me! I can't believe I actually finished this whole story. Phew, typing up forty whole chapters is pretty dang hard to do. Now, I know what you're thinking: "What kind of a stupid ending is this? We don't even know what happened after that! It was supposed to merge with the actual storyline! Ava McKenna, you LIAR!" **

**. . .**

**Okay, so maybe not that dramatic, but never fear! I'm going to write a sequel, part 2, er . . . thingy. ^_^ Yeah, I thought I was being obvious, but I guess like half of you thought that this thing was going to be _completely _done. Silly 8) Anyhoo, long story short, I was becoming self conscious that Blackout was getting way too long, and decided that the second part of the story needed to be in a sequel for length and convenience purposes. So everyone needs to be on the lookout for the story called "Abstraction," kk?**

**In a nutshell, it's going to involve a lot of surprise twists and turns (and I mean a LOT). Also, I'm going to go into more depth (and probably outdo my self) about shadowbending. Trust me, that concept is about to get crazy (in a good way, of course). I'm going to introduce about two or three more big OC's into the plot, and (last but not least) I'm going to weave it all into the actual ATLA storyline.**

**Oh, yeah, and Zuko and Kaida _will_ definitely have more action in this story, and they _will_ definitely become a thing. ;) You're welcome.**

**Anyhoo, thank you all for being amazing and reading this all the way to the end! Remember, the story will be titled Abstraction, and I hope you all look forward to it!**

**Ava out, yo. Peace!**


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